IMAGE  EVALUATrON 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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IIIM    III2.5 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

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&? 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  canadien  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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D 


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Coloured  covers/ 
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I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagde 


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n 


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Pages  endommagd^ 

Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
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Letit 


D 
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D 
D 


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Bound  with  other  material/ 
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V 


D 


-y 


D 
D 


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D 


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D 


v 


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D 


Additional  comments:/ 
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This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


y 

1 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
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L'exemplaire  filmd  fut  reprodult  grfice  d  la 
g6n6rosit6  de: 


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Indian  and  Northern  Affairs 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
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filming  contract  specifications. 


Bibliothdque 

Affaires  indiennes  et  du  Nord 

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conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
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sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
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first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
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Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprim6e  sont  filmis  en  commen^ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
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premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED "),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END  "), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparattra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  —^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  6tre 
film^s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  fiimd  d  partir 
de  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

GUIDE 


TO  THE 


Yukon  Gold  Fields 


WHERE  THEY  ARE  AND  HOW  TO  REACH  THEM 


By    V.    WILSON 


With  Maps  and  Many  Illustrations 


SEATTLE 

The  Calvert  Company 

1895 


LIBRARY 

llorlfo«-*n  Administration 

•mt  iAnda  Branch 

MIGll     195/ 


•r  NirtlNni  AIMnA 


Copyright,  1895,  by  V.  Wilson. 


Ir 

L 
T 
L 

T 
C 

T 
L 

IV 

s 

G 
\ 
I 

a 


CONTENTS. 


PAGS 

Introduction 13 

Where  and  What  to  Buy  for  an  Outfit 17 

List  of  Provisions 18 

The  Start 20 

Lake  Lindeman 20 

Whip-sawing 21 

Lake  Bennett 22 

Tagish  Lake 22 

Caribou  Crossing 23 

Windy  Arm 23 

Tagish  House 24 

Lake  Marsh   25 

Martins'  Nests 25 

Salmon 25 

Grand  Canyon 26 

White  Horse  Rapids 28 

Proposed  Tramway  Route 29 

Tahkeena  River 30 

Lake  Labarge 30 

Hootalinqua  River 31 

Big  Salmon  River 32 

Little  Salmon  River 32 

Five  Fingers 33 

Rink  Rapids 33 

Old  Fort  Selkirk 33 

White  River 34 

Volcanic  Ash  Deposits 35 

Stewart  River 36 

Sixty  Mile  Creek 36 

Indian  Creek 36 

Clondike  River 37 

Forty  Mile  Creek 37 

Miller  Creek 38 

Freighting 39 

Glacier  Creek 39 

Prospecting  and  Mining 39 

Bed-Rock  Creek 40 

Bald  Hills 41 

Forty  Mile  Post 41 

Dogs 42 

Fort  Cudahy 43 

Coal  Creek 44 

Circle  City 44 

Birch  Creek 45 


vi 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Preacher  Creek 46 

Yukon  Flats 46 

Fossils 47 

Lower  Ramparts 48 

Muklukyeto  City f 49 

Koyukuk  River 49 

Lower  River  Natives 49 

St.  Michaels  Island 50 

Navigation  of  the  Yukon 51 

Taku  Route 52 

White  Pass 53 

Chilkoot  Pass 53 

Chilkat  Pass 54 

Possible  Railroad  Route 54 

Resources 56 

Copper 55 

Iron  and  Coal 55 

Platinum 55 

Game 55 

Moose 55 

Caribou 66 

Barren  Land  Caribou 56 

Arctic  Reindeer 56 

Bear 57 

Mountain  Goat 58 

Mountain  Sheep  58 

Lynx  ....    58 

Wolves 59 

Wolverine 59 


Fish 59 

Discovery  of  Gold  in  the  Yukon  Basin 60 

Source  of  the  Yukon 61 

Climate 62 

Winter  Clothes 63 

New  Discovery  at  Cook  Inlet 64 

The  Yukon  River 64 

Indians  Along  the  Yukon  66 

Purchase  of  Alaska 68 

Area  and  Extent 69 

Juneau 69 

Douglass  Island 70 

Gold  Dust 71 

Sale  on  Bed-Rock 71 

Miners'  Laws 71 

A  Model  Firm  72 

A  New  Steamboat  Line 72 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FACING    PAGE 

Portage  Head  of  Lake  Bennett 3 

Midnight  at  Lake  Bennett   1 

Boat  Building 18 

Camp  Life 18 

Whip-sawing .... 18 

Lake  Labarge 24 

Lake  Liudeuian 24 

Wrecked  at  Windy  Arm 24 

Looking  Down  Grand  Canyon 26 

White  Horse  Rapids 28 

Shooting  Grand  Canyon 28 

Head  of  White  Horse  Rapids 28 

Five  Finger  Rapids  of  the  Yukon 32 

Sixty  Mile  Post 36 

Towing  a  Boat  Through  Forty  Mile  Creek  Canyon 38 

Forty  Mile  Post 42 

First  Supplies  at  Circle  City 44 

Fort  Cudahy 46 

Steamer  P.  B.  Weare 50 

Frank  Cromier's  Claim,  Miller  Creek 52 

Steamer  Arctic 56 

Group  of  Miners.  Forty  Mile  Creek 60 

Group  of  Miners,  Ruby  Sands  Mines 62 

Glacier,  Head  of  Litauya  Bay  at  the  Right 64 

Schooner  Sea  Gull  and  Fairweather  Alps  in  Distance 68 

City  of  Juneau 70 

Treadwell  Mines,  Douglass  Island 72 


MAPS. 


Map  of  Birch  Creek  Mining  District. 
Map  of  Forty  Mile  Creek  Mining  District. 

Map  of  Route  into  the   Gold  Fields  by  Way  of  Chilkat  and  Chilkoot 
Passes. 


TABLE  Of  DISTANCES. 


It     l;i 


The  following  distances  from  Juneau  are  taken  from  Ogilvie's  survey  as 
far  as  it  has  been  made;  the  others  are  according  to  the  best  authorities 
to  be  found. 

MII^ES 

Haines  Mission 80 

Taiya 100 

Head  of  Canoe  Navigation,  Taiya  River  106 

Summit  Chilkoot  Pass 114^ 

Head  of  Lake  lyindeman 123!^ 

Foot  of  Lake  Lindeman ^^7/^ 

Head  of  Lake  Bennett  128X 

Foot  of  Lake  Bennett 153^ 

Caribou  Crossing 1 56  >^ 

Foot  of  Tagish  Lake I73/^ 

Head  of  Lake  Marsh 178X 

Foot  of  Lake  Marsh 197X 

Head  of  Canyon 223 

Foot  of  Canyon 223^^ 

Head  of  White  Horse  Rapids 225X 

Tahkeena  River 240 

Head  of  Lake  Labarge 235 

Foot  of  Lake  Labarge 284 

Hootalinqua  River 316 

Big  Salmon  River 349 

Little  Salmon  River 385 ^-2 

Five  Finger  Rapids 444 

Rink  Rapids 450 

Pelly  River 503)^ 

White  River 599>^ 

Stewart  River 609 

Sixty  Mile  Post 629 

Fort  Reliance 682  >^ 

Forty  Mile  Post 728 

Fort  Cudahy 728^ 

Moose  Creek  on  Forty  Mile  River 754 

Head  of  Miller  Creek  788 


\ 


«r  tiMT«^'t«iii«  T «k«i^ 


223 

223?^ 

225X 
240 

235 
284 
316 
349 

385  >^ 
444 
450 

503>^ 

599  >^ 
609 
629 

682  >^ 
728 

728^ 

754 
788 


Thit  fotlowlnir  t<ibl«  thow*  th«  dhtiiiMffl 
tmtn  JunMQ  tn  th«  varloai  pnlnta  n«m*d  nii 
thi>  on'v  pneMmihIa  rout*  tn  mi<1  down  the 
vrwit  Ynknn  Btuln  and  !■  repAM>«h«i1  fnr 
th«  infnrmation  nf  th«  mmtm  nf  Inqnirari 
nhn  «r#rkly  %,AAt9>tm  tM«  P'ip'r  n|Mm  thr 
«nt>]mt:  nf  thff  grMt  •nrPrmim  rvglnna  of  ttir 
Ur  nnrthwMf.  To  thorn  wo  woa1«!  «twt  twT 
thnt  nntfit*  enn  b«  n^cnrotl  how  mnro  •<<• 
mntnr^nnalf  th«n  at  any  -ith^r  point  aa  tonf 
oxport^tic*  hna  tanvht  nnr  rt^al^ra  tha  axart 
"pqnlr^m^nf"  an»!  thalr  a<f vleo  in  tha  prrm- 
I»a*  will  h«  fftniff  Invalnahla. 

THU  fa  tiA  Twwir  man'a  flonntnr  t  nn  on" 
•h^nl't  iirrl««>  hara  «rf*h  la«a  than  9.10A  {  th<> 
pnii<VM  ar^  1«nff.  •npnH**  ara  roat'T.  aaaann* 
NP*  ahnpt  a««f  fnrtitna  fick'a  t  fa^wa  tA  Uni* 
W'M  ♦*»*  first  ^ranon  rn»»»r«  wif^Hnff  npnr 
•  hn«i«  wfn*a  'Mn«f«  ara  In^nfRpl^nt  ta  cairv 
♦•"•m  tlirnngh  tha  Inttjr  a*lnt»r  •■h"?*  alnio 
'iit»'v  notVTn™  c"n  *<#  •'»'«•»  :  »>•»♦  nn^  lo  « 
»*ll»»  'laf*  iraV#«  «  atriira  tl>a  fimr  •^i>§'>n. 

|n«<xp«»rlnn«^«'  P»«r«An«  nn^ra*  pr»ptr'-<1  fo» 
•''n*'  air*'t>f'af1  «*a'ava  aha"!'!  "tav  atrav  ? 
onM'fln>1tn7 1«  a  Bcl"oc»  wMrh  t^i\  Ka  ac 
f\xAr*A  only  In  lt«  natlva  fl«»l<U.  an<!  \}yfi  ar» 
mi«»  \\f  maatrral  "NawKorp,  for  Ir  4*»aku 
•hpra  l«  no  ♦??«»•  'or  pnn'lprlnw  ;  urt'nn  winv' 
ha  quick  an«T  i»h»rp  «^r  tha  pammn  l«  Ina*. 

Hiilnaa  Mfiiiilnn  (rhi'kat RO 

H«»»»  of  aonn*  navlpatton Kfl 

Snwanlt  of  Chtlooot  Paaa 115 

L"»ka  L*n>1armii|i 1?4 

F^a'l  nf  r.aka  n#itnatf 1*^ 

Faot  of  Ti"fca   R«nnatt: l.W 

Foot:  of  rurlhon  rVoaatnff IKH 

Foot!  of  TaVon  Tjika Ifg 

'       Tifcl.h  Fnn«a 17t 

Faail  of  Mild    Lakf 1W> 

Fo«»  of  r.aka  Marah $nft 

ITaa«1  ftf  Canvon W.I 

Waa.«  of  Whita  Fnrao  Rapltta. .  2W 

THkahf^na  R»r»a JilO 

Foad  of  Lafca  L«»  Burga 955    • 

F'^otof     ••  ••         o|t9 

H-^otallpona JWO 

Caaalar  Har S47 

T.ittla5ta>iPOMFivar SW 

Flira  Flncara 4M 

IVIIv  RIviT Kin 

Stawart  Rlirar  WO 

Forty  Mlla 780 

Whl'ono  aetnal  anrvay  haa  avar  haon 
mado  of  thia  ronta  tha  ffiatanroa  elran  hava 
haon  earafnily  aatlmatrd  hy  compatant  tra*- 
allara  «n«1  will  ha  fonnd  apitmstaatoljr  eor- 
rtet~AlMk»  Uiotoc  ttocord. 


\ 


\CE. 

information  concerning  the  Yu- 

them,   and  the  almost  total  ab- 

de-book  to  that  region,  at  a  time 

ire  mining  world  are  turned  in 

author  to  place  before  the  public 

personal  observation  and  dili- 

jpent  many  years  in  that  region, 

forth  a  literary  production.     A 

age  has  been  followed.     It  has 

j:ure  to  give  to  the  public  a  vol- 

'gure  and  lofty  description.  This 

k  to  be  used  bj'^  everyone,  tour- 

ly  reference,  telling  how  to  get 

it  out  of  it  and  what  has  been 

I 

fese  pages  to  give  such  informa- 
)se  who  may  undertake  the  trip, 
to  encounter  the  hardships  and 
'e  been  led  to  believe  that  nug- 
eds  of  streams  like  pebbles. 
)tographs  and  are  the  only  ones 
pper  river  and  mines,  while  the 
5ervation  and  information  given 

remarks  I  wish  to  acknowledge 
o  Billy  Lloyd,  Frank  Knight, 
others,  as  well  as  to  Pither,  an 
/ely  through  the  Yukon  basin. 

V.  w. 

3IR. 


this  work  was  compiled  were 
lor  was  taken  seriously  ill,  and 
■om  the  press  there  comes  also 
eath.     "Strange  indeed,"   one 


I 


m 


9r, 

ler 


TABLE  OF  DISTANCES. 


■-es 


lie 


at 


The  following  distances  from  Junean  are  taken  from  Ogif 
far  as  it  has  been  made;  the  others  are  according  to  the  , . 
to  be  found. 

Haines  Mission 

Taiya 

Head  of  Canoe  Navigation,  Taiya  River  

Summit  Chilkoot  Pass 

Head  of  Lake  Lindeman 

Foot  of  Lake  Lindeman .jie 

Head  of  Lake  Bennett 

Foot  of  Lake  Bennett *° 

Caribou  Crossing 

Foot  of  Tagish  Lake 

Head  of  Lake  Marsh 

Foot  of  Lake  Marsh ;sB 

Head  of  Canyon 

Foot  of  Canyon 

Head  of  White  Horse  Rapids ,11. 

Tahkeena  River 

Head  of  Lake  Labarge he 

Foot  of  Lake  Labarge   

Hootalinqua  River 

Big  Salmon  River 11. 

Little  Salmon  River 

Five  Finger  Rapids 

Rink  Rapids sy 

Pelly  River 

White  River 

Stewart  River '6- 

Sixty  Mile  Post 

Fort  Reliance ful 

Forty  Mile  Post 

Fort  Cudahy 

Moose  Creek  on  Forty  Mile  River gh 

Head  of  Miller  Creek   


all 
;}h8 
len 


ts 


an 


es 


•nd 


or, 
(ild 


applying  a  llttrtf'^'*^''* 
hlU  or  drill,  evei  & 

vcben  the  pinnta  > 

lack  of  food,  a     pit.  lui 

Hhould  be  grown. 

0')od  farmers  whose  Intere. 
grain  and  gruHB  are  rapldl 
Ing  that  the  most  profltabl> 
tor  their  manure  for  grain  < 
ui)OD  a  BOd  of  the  prevlouH 
that  the  chemlBtrv  of  the  » 
bettor  prepare  It  for  the  gn 
while  the  Immediately 
parts  feed  at  once  the  gniw 
If  there  Is  much  swamp  up 
place.  dry  Borne  of  It  and  [ 
ternate  layers  of  Blx  Inches 
much  stable  manure ;  it  Is  i 
also  add  straw,  weeds,  sods,] 
each  ton  It  will  pay  to  add  r^l 
kalnit  and  as  much  bone  mca! 
the  heap  over  several  time* 
the  Beason. 

We  get  rid  of  the  weeds  byl 
rotation,  clean  hoed  crops, . 
mowed  before  any  weeds  go' 
•  clover  cut  early,  and  other  pi 
mon  seuHe  methods,  bit  the 
never  be  a  let  up,  for  In  ow 
we  may  get  back  more  than, 
gained  in  five.  There  is 
way,  and  only  vigilance  wi; 
vUitory. 

HORSES. 

Just  aa  the  railways  have  U 
the  use  for  good  horses,  so  v 
trlclty  dncrease  the  demanf 
sands  of  :aotor8  require  ti; 
thousands  jf  horses  to  hauli 
material  and  manufactured  i* 
\' .  Ich  are  Increasing  as  tlii 
trial  interests  develop  and  pn 
resumes  its  olden  reign. 

Recent  statistics  show,  e.' 
In  European  countries,  that  t 
ber  of  horses  used  In  cities  an 
increases  every  year  in  a  mo 
proportion  than  the  populatii 
same,  and  is  owing,  no  doi 
the  greater  number  of  public 
ancea  and  the  traffic  steam  i 
trlclty  bring. 

The  horse  has  a  way  of 
his   appreciation   of  kind  tri 
Greater  amends  have  been  i 
the  cities,  wkere  the  cruel  n 
is  going  out  of  use,  hnd  whei 
Ing  fountains  are  everywher 
li^hed.       As   yet,   the  farmer 
whom  we  should  expect  the 
lagging   in   this   regard.      Ti 
we   see   horses  left  to   the 
all  the  winter. 

MillionB  of  money  have  be 
In  developing  the  fast  trott* 
the  world  has  not  been  ben 
whit  thereby.  Many  of  or 
men  have  been  ruined  by  a  • 
qnired  for  gambling  on  the  ra 
trtility,  size,  beauty  and  go 
position  are  more  desirable  i 
valuable ;  and  yet  we  call 
a  nation  of  practl^nl  people 

To  be  a*  horse  breeder  c 
have  natural  ability;  but  th 
also  be  long,  careful  study  a 
ing.  No  department  of  ag 
requires  more  perfect  know 
make  it 'a  success,  and  it  la 
reason  that  the  average  far 


drill,  eve>  n 

he  planta  > 

food,  a     pi«.  iu> 

be  grown. 

(arrnera  whose  Intere. 
md  RraHB  are  rapid: 
it  the  most  profltabl 
Ir  manure  for  grain 

sod  of   the  prevlouH 
le  chemistry  of   the  f 
prepare  It  for  the  gr, 
the     immediately 
eed  at  once  the  grasf 
»re  Is  much  swamp  "P 

dry  some  of  It  and  i 
I  layers  of  six  Inches 
itable  manure :  It  Is  - 


PREFACE. 


"^he  much  felt  want  of  definite  information  concerning  the  Yu- 
idBtrawr^eeds,  sods.kctti  gold-fields  and  how  to  reach  them,   and  the  almost  total  ab- 


and  ^s"mSJh  bSnt^meis#ce  of  anything  like  a  good  guide-book  to  that  region,  at  a  time 
ap  over  several  tlraei^j^e,^  the  eyes  of  nearly  the  entire  mining  world  are  turned  in 
^e^'rld  of  the  weeds  bjth|it  direction,  have  prompted  the  author  to  place  before  the  public 

"b  fore  "any"  weS^go'^!'^"''^"y  ^^^^'^ '^^  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^  personal  observation  and  dili- 

cut  early,  and  other  psgi^jpit  inquiry  of  those  who  have  spent  many  years  in  that  region. 
t>e"^  "t  up,^for  In  oniNp  attempt  has  been  made  to  put  forth  a  literary  production.     A 

y  get  back  more  than  j^tgj^^gjj^  Qf  f^cts  in  simple  language  has  been  followed.     It  has 

In  five.      There  Is      ■  r  is     b 

md  only  vigilance  \vi:;een  left  to  some  toul.r  of  the  future  to  give  to  the  public  a  vol- 

HORSES.  ^^  embellished  with  ilictorical  figure  and  lofty  description.  This 

as  the  railways  have  Hr^ume  is  intended  for  a  hand-book  to  be  used  by  everyone,  tour- 

'  inJrfase^  \°hl^demaiit4,  prospector  af.i  minei,  for  ready  reference,  telling  how  to  get 

of    motors    require  ti^^o  the  Yukon  basin,  how  to  get  out  of  it  and  what  has  been 
nJj   of   horses  to  haul, 
al  and  manufactured  i!<fincl  there. 

are  Increasing  as  tii    jj.  jg  j^^j.  Q,^|y  |.j^g  purpose  of  these  pages  to  give  such  informa- 
iterests  develop  and  prt  -^        ^,-  ,  ,  ,        ,        , 

H  Its  olden  reign.  i^n  as  will  prove  of  benefit  to  those  who  may  undertake  the  trip, 

5pean*coStrles,^that*ti;ttt  also  to  discourage  those  unfit  lo  encounter  the  hardships  and 
horses  used  in  cities  andtj-j-gctly  to  inform  those  who  have  been  led  to  believe  that  nug- 
tion  than  the  populatio4s  could  be  gathered  from  the  beds  of  streams  like  pebbles, 
eater  num^ei°o't  pubUc^c*^^^^  illustrations  are  from  photographs  and  are  the  only  ones 
and  the  traffic  steam  aner  successfully  taken  of  the  upper  river  and  mines,  while  the 
hors^has  a  way  of  shlSS are  drawn  from  personal  observation  and  information  given 
ipreclatlon   of   kind  treat  jners 

r  amends  have  been  ma\         ,',.,,  r  ^  i       t       •  i    .        i  i  j 

lies,  wkere  the  cruel  neck  \^oncluding  these  prefatory  remarks  I  wish  to  acknowledge 

SitTlL'' al^%ve°  ywhirl  Sl^ratitude  my  indebtedness  to  Billy  Uoyd,    Frank  Knight, 

As  yet,  the  farmer,      'rcDgi^siiiore,  Mr.  Cornell  and  others,  as  well  as  to  Pither,  an 
we  should  expect  the  most,        ,      ,       ^        i  j       ..       •     i     ^i  i.   ^.u    ^r   i         i      • 

g  In  this  regard.  Too  oft,  who  has  traveled  extensively  through  the  Yukon  basin, 
e   horses  left  to   the   eiemer  ^   ^ 

>  winter.  

ons  of  money  have  been  spe  a^^a^i^HBHiiHHiiH^H 

eloping  the  fast  trotter,      a 

orld  has  not  been  benefited  IViniVimP 

thereby.      Many  of  our  you  lVlClVlv^ir\. 

ave  been  ruined  by  a  taste  t  

for  gambling  on  the  race  trai 

r,  size,  beauty  and  good     di  after  the  notes  from  which  this  work  was  compiled  were 

)le  f 'and^*yet  we'^call  oursel^  to  the  publishers,  the  author  was  taken  seriously  ill,  and 
ion  of  practi*"^!  people.  tjjg  hour  Ihe  book  comes  from  the  press  there  comes  also 

be     a  horse  breeder  one  rat  .,,,.,        <<^.  •    j     j    .. 

latural  ability ;  but  there  mid   news  of  the  authors   death.        Strange  indeed,"  one 
e  long,  careful  study  and  tra* 
No  department  of  agrlculti 
BS   more   perfect  knowledge 
It '  a  success,  and  It  Is  for  tl 
L  that  the  average  farmer  w 


PREFACE 


would  say,  "  that  a  man  of  such  a  strong  physique,  possessed  of 
an  iron  will,  should  give  way  to  the  ravages  of  fever.  "  But  not 
so  strange  to  one  who  kntfw  the  suffering  and  hardships  encoun- 
tered and  endured  by  Mr.  Wilson  during  his  voyage  of  explora- 
tion the  past  year  in  Alaska.  I  met  him  on  the  morning  of  June 
15th  at  the  head  waters  of  the  Yukon  River,  and  was  with  him 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  four  thousand  mile  journey.  While 
scarcely  thirty  years  of  age,  he  was  a  natural  explorer  and  always 
seemed  as  nuich  at  home  with  the  Indians  among  rocky  fastnesses 
of  the  North  as  he  would  be  in  the  midst  of  the  aesthetic  sur- 
roundings of  his  father's  home  in  Maine.  He  could  transform 
hardships  into  pleasures  ;  in  the  presence  of  danger,  always  calm 
and  delil)erate,  a  keen  observer,  joj'ful  spirited,  never  uttering  a 
murmur  about  the  heavy  pack  upon  his  back  while  making  long 
journeys  across  the  mountains  but  would  revel  in  the  beauty  and 
grandeur  of  his  surroundings.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  abilities,  a 
good  conversationalist  with  pleasing  manner,  a  strong  personality, 
very  kind  and  genial  under  all  circumstances,  making  friends 
wherever  he  went. 

His  life  has  been  sacrificed  to  gain  and  give  to  the  world  the 
valuable  information  contained  in  the  following  pages,  and  in 
this  .sen.se  it  has  been  sacrificed  for  others.  Having  traveled  the 
same  route  as  the  author,  I  can  confidently  say  that  this  guide 
will  prove  invaluable  to  anyone  going  to  Alaska,  and  in  the 
memory  of  those  who  follow  its  directions  will  be  erected  an  en- 
during monument  to  him  who  died  in  the  hope  of  a  life  everlast- 
ing beyond  the  confines  of  mortality. 

J.  O.  Hkstwood. 

Seattle,  January  5,  1895. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


The  rush  to  the  Yukon  last  spring  saw  many  prospectors  in  the 
field  with  the  most  promising  results.  Many  new  creeks  were 
discovered  of  great  extent  and  richness,  and  all  the  old  mines 
yielded  better  results  than  ever  before. 

No  creek  in  the  entire  basin  which  was  prospected  with  any  de- 
gree of  precision  failed  to  show  at  least  a  color. 

The  estimated  amount  of  gold  taken  out  of  the  country  last 
year  has  been  placed  as  high  as  one  million  dollars,  and  while  this 
is  highly  improbable,  the  many  who  have  returned  with  amounts 
varying  from  five  to  thirty-five  thousand  dollars  prove  beyond  a 
doubt  that  the  country  is  one  of  great  richness. 

With  these  facts  fresh  before  the  public,  at  a  time  when  the 
brawn  and  muscle  of  our  great  nation  is  almost  at  a  standstill,  it 
may  reasonably  be  expected  that  many  will  turn  their  attention  in 
this  direction,  and  it  is  therefore  the  purpose  of  these  pages  to 
give  such  information  as  will  be  of  benefit  to  tiiose  who  undertake 
the  trip. 

The  Chilkoot  pass  is  the  only  route  used  to  any  extent  at  pres- 
ent by  the  miners,  and  is  the  shortest  portage  from  salt  water  to 
the  navigable  waters  of  the  Yukon.  This  route  leads  over  the  Chil- 
koot pass  down  the  lakes  to  Lewis  river,  thence  down  the  Yukon 
to  the  mines  at  different  points  on  that  river. 

The  trip  is  one  of  difficulties  which  will  tax  the  endurance  and 
nerve  of  the  most  hardy,  and  only  such  men  can  reasonably  expect 
to  succeed.  For  only  with  the  most  incessant  toil,  such  as  packing 
provisions  over  pathless  mountains,  towing  a  heavy  boat  against  a 
five  to  an  eight  mile  current,  over  battered  boulders,  digging  in  the 
bottomless  frost,  sleeping  where  night  overtakes,  fighling  gnats 
and  mosquitos  by  the  million,  shooting  seething  canyons  and  rapids 
and  enduring  for  seven  long  months  a  relentless  cold  which  never 
rises  above  zero  and  frequently  falls  to  80  below — any  man  physi- 
cally endowed  to  overcome  these  obstacles  who  will  go  there  for  a 
few  years,  can  by  strict  attention  to  business  make  a  good  stake 
with  the  possibilities  of  a  fortune. 

The  climate  is  one  unequalled  for  health,  the  summer  months 


XlV 


INTRODUCTION 


are  delightful,  game  is  plenty  in  season,  and  the  winters,  while 
cold,  are  healthy  and  help  to  recuperate  the  lost  vitality  from  the 
incessant  toil  of  summer. 

The  next  few  years  will  see  wagon  roads  and  trails  through  the 
Coast  range,  steamers  on  the  lakes  and  upper  river,  and  the  whole 
of  the  vast  upper  country  will  be  made  accessible  to  the  miner. 
Then  hundreds  will  flock  there  and  ten  years  will  see  a  popula- 
tion of  one  hundred  thousand  people  in  the  Yukon  basin. 

Then  its  vast  richness  will  become  the  by-word  of  the  world,  for 
it  is  a  poor  man's  country— nature  has  stored  her  treasure  in  a 
safe  of  ice  with  a  time  lock  which  only  opens  in  the  long  sunny 
days  of  summer. 

Hydraulic  mining  is  made  impossible  owing  to  lack  of  water, 
for  only  the  glacial  drip  of  the  hills  is  accessible  in  the  gulches 
which  carry  the  most  gold.  This  will  make  its  period  of  pro- 
ductiveness much  greater,  while  capital  will  find  lucrative  invest- 
ments in  the  rich  lodes  of  gold,  iron,  coal  and  copper,  and  in  the 
bars  of  the  rivers  which  have  become  no  longer  useful  to  the  pan 
or  cradle  in  the  hands  of  the  miner.  All  along  the  whole  route 
from  Mie  Coast  range  down  to  old  Fort  Yukon,  the  close  observer 
can  see  vast  treasures  in  the  mountains,  coal,  marble  and  copper, 
only  waiting  for  the  country  to  develop  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
bring  them  within  reach  of  the  outside  world. 

The  country  south  of  the  Pelly  river  is  quite  well  timbered.  It 
is  a  good  grazing  country;  all  the  hardy  vegetables  grow  well  and 
even  wheat  ripens. 

It  is  a  fine  game  and  fish  country.  Bear  of  several  varieties, 
moose,  caribou,  wolves  and  many  fur-bearing  animals  abound.  It 
is  doubtless  the  greatest  country  in  the  world  for  the  silver  and  the 
black  fox.  The  rivers  and  lakes  are  teeming  with  many  varieties 
of  fish,  while  grouse  and  rabbits  are  numerous  along  the  shore. 
Water  fowl  of  many  kinds  are  plenty  and  their  long  sojou  .  '  .g  in 
these  inland  waters  gives  to  their  flesh  a  flavor,  which,  although 
high  and  gamy,  never  acquires  that  repulsive,  fishy  taste  so  uni- 
versal to  the  fowls  of  this  coast. 

When  once  this  country  is  made  accessible  from  the  Sound 
points  by  proper  transportation  facilities,  it  can  be  reached  in  ten 
days.  Then  it  will  become  one  of  the  greatest  tourist  countries  of 
the  world,  for  where  is  grander  scenery,  a  more  beautiful  climate,  or 
a  more  favored  spot,  than  is  this  lake  country  during  three  months 


INTRODUCTION 


XV 


in  summer  ?  The  shores  are  bordered  by  strips  of  green  meadow, 
bedecked  with  wild  roses  and  an  endless  variety  of  flowers  of  the 
most  delicate  tints,  while  terraced,  open  and  timbered  slopes  stretch 
away  to  high  mountains  which  in  turn  are  backed  by  snow-capped 
peaks. 

During  the  whole  summer  scarcely  any  rain  falls,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  an  occasional  thunder-shower  ;  the  sun  is  seldom  lost  sight 
of  except  for  a  brief  period  at  night. 

Within  three  years  it  will  be  possible  to  leave  Seattle  in  spring, 
work  in  the  mines  all  summer  and  return  in  the  fall.  Then  the 
importance  of  these  vast  gold  fields  will  come  to  be  realized,  and  in 
the  near  future  the  word  Yukon  will  associate  itself  so  closely 
with  that  of  gold,  that  its  mere  mention  will  convey  impressions 
of  an  Eldorado,  rivaling  that  of  fable. 


"ill 

■  'I 

,  :fi| 

% 


Il 


.i.V 


'  ,•  .'.V,'iv' 


,  ».•■ 


.»■•;•• 

I- 1-  • 


THE  GUiBE   BOOK 


TO 


THE  GOLD-FIELDS  OF   THE   YUKON 


WHERE  AND  WHAT  TO  BUY  FOR  AN  OUTFIT. 


In  deciding  to  make  the  trip,  the  greatest  considerations  are  how 
long  it  is  necessary  to  stay,  how  much  money  is  needed  and  the 
results  to  be  attained.  The  answer  to  the  last  question,  here  as  in  all 
other  countries,  depends  entirely  on  the  man. 

The  country  is  of  such  extent  and  richness  that  the  possibilities 
are  unlimited,  and  a  good  rustler  cannot  fail  to  make  a  good 
round  sum  if  he  will  stay  at  least  three  years.  Little  can  be  ac- 
complished in  less  time  than  that,  unless  one  is  indeed  lucky. 

A  good  part  of  the  first  season  will  be  consumed  in  reaching 
the  mines  ;  then,  if  a  claim  is  located,  onlj'  the  preliminary  work 
can  be  done.  The  second  year  it  can  be  well  opened  up  and  in 
all  probability  some  money  made.  The  third  year  usually  gives 
the  promised  results.  I  would  advise  no  man  to  start  with  less 
than  four  hundred  dollars,  as  the  expense  of  reaching  the  mines 
is  considerable  and  the  companies  doing  business  there  refuse  ab- 
solutely to  give  credit,  as  they  can  sell  all  their  goods  for  ready 
cash.  Some  men  who  wanted  to  remain  were  obliged  to  leave 
the  country  last  year  on  that  account. 

The  companies  doing  business  there  have  in  the  past  helped 
such  men  out  of  the  country,  but  in  the  future,  owing  to  this 


M 


18 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


fact's  l)ecoming  generally  known,  they  will  refuse  to  give  any  as- 
sistance whatever.  This  decision,  I  understand,  they  will  advertise 
extensively  this  coming  spring. 

Having  decided  to  make  the  trip  the  outfit  needed  for  the  long 
journey  down  the  river  to  the  mines  is  of  the  greatest  consideration. 
The  actual  necessities  for  the  trip  are  given  in  a  list  below. 
The  supply  of  clothes  should  be  governed  by  ones  needs,  taste 
and  purse.  It  is  also  desirable  to  take  along  a  small,  well-filled 
medicine  chest. 

The  outfit  proper  can  be  bought  to  better  advantage  in  Juneau 
than  elsewhere,  for  the  large  outfitting  establishments  there  have 
learned  from  long  experience  what  is  most  needed  and  their  prices 
will  compare  favorably  with  prices  on  the  Sound.  One 
may  be  sure  of  getting  just  what  is  needed  without  any  extra 
weight,  which  is  of  the  greatest  importance,  as  many  hard  port- 
ages are  to  be  encountered  on  the  trip. 


LIST   OF   PROVISIONS   FOR   ONK   MAN   ONK   MONTH  : 


Twenty  pounds  of  flour  with 

baking  powder 
12  pounds  of  bacon 
6  pounds  of  beans 
5  pounds  of    dried  fruits 

3  pounds  of    dessicated  vegetables 

4  pounds  of  butter 

5  pounds  of  sugar 

4  cans  of  milk 

1  pound  of  tea 

3  pounds  of  coffee 

2  pounds  of  salt 

5  pounds  of  corn  nioal 
Tepper 

Matches 

Mustard 

Cooking  utensils  and  dishes 

I  frying  pan 

1  water  kettle 
Tent 
Yukon  stove 

2  pair  good  blankets 
I  rubber  blanket 


1  bean  pot 

2  plates 

I  drinking  cup 

I  tea  pot 

I  knife  and  fork 

I  large  and  i  small  cooking  pan 

TOOLS    FOR   BOAT   BUILDING. 
I  jack  plane 
I  whip  saw 
I  hand  saw 
I  rip  saw 
I  draw  knife 
I  ax 

I  hatchet 
I  pocket  rule 
6  pounds  of  assorted  nails 

3  pounds  of  oakum 
5  pounds  of  pitch 
50  feet  of  }i  rope 
Mosquito  netting 

I  pair  crag-proof  hip  boots 

Snow-glasses 

Medicines 


The  above  is  the  list  of  provisions  generally  taken  by  miners 
and  is  sufficient  for  one  man  for  one  month.     The  length  of  the  trip 


i 


:  any  as- 
advertise 

the  long 
deration . 

t  below. 
;ds,  taste 

ell-filled 

n  Juneau 
lere  have 
leir  prices 
id.  One 
any  extra 
lard   port- 


H  : 


king  pan 
ILDING. 


ails 


boots 


1  by  miners 
th  of  the  trip 


r"ir' 


to 


^5 


tc 


f 


GUIDE    TO  THE  YUKON 


10 


will  be  regulated  by  the  season  of  starting  and  the  amount  neces- 
sary for  the  entire  trip  easily  ascertained. 

That  is,  if  parties  decide  to  do  their  own  transporting  over  the  di- 
vide they  should  start  not  later  than  the  first  of  April — better  by 
the  middle  of  March — then  they  can  sleigh  their  outfit  over  the 
summit  and  down  the  lakes  to  where  suitable  boat  timber  can  be 
found.  If  the  start  is  made  by  the  middle  of  March,  the 
whole  distance  of  the  lakes  can  be  accomplished  by  sleigh,  a 
boat  built  and  the  start  made  down  the  river  as  soon  as  it 
breaks  up,  which  is  much  earlier  than  on  the  lakes.  By  doing  this 
the  mines  may  be  reached  four  weeks  earlier  than  by  building  the 
boat  at  the  head  of  the  lakes  and  waiting  for  the  ice  to  leave. 

The  trip  down  the  lakes  by  .sleigh  is  usually  exciting  ;  a  large 
sail  is  fixed  to  the  sleigh  and  long  distances  are  made  in  a  single 
day  over  the  hard  snow  and  ice.  If  the  start  is  made  later  than 
the  last  of  April  it  is  customary  to  hire  the  packing  done  by  the 
Indians,  who  pack  to  I^ake  Lindeman,  a  distance  of  twenty-four 
miles,  for  fourteen  dollars  per  hundred.  There  is  no  timber  on  the 
lake  suitable  for  boat  building,  and  a  raft  will  have  to  be  made 
to  take  the  outfit  to  where  better  timber  can  be  found. 

A  good  rifle  of  large  calibre  should  be  taken  along,  as  large  game 
is  plenty.  Also  a  trout  line  for  grayling  which  can  be  caught 
with  a  small  black  fly  at  the  mouth  of  small  streams  and  at  the 
foot  of  rapids  all  along  below  the  lakes.  A  good  pair  of  snow-glasses 
should  not  be  overlooked,  as  attacks  of  snow  blindness  are  only  thus 
prevented  in  crossing  the  summit,  and  nothing  proves  more  pain- 
ful. In  several  cases  it  has  actually  driven  miners  insane,  and 
often  delays  those,  not  thus  provided,  for  days  and  even  weeks. 
E.  Valentine,  of  Juneau,  keeps  a  special  glass  at  a  small  cost, 
adapted  to  the  trip.  It  is  customary  to  take  mining  tools  from 
Juneau  for  prospecting  along  the  trip  or  for  any  stop  that  might 
be  made  on  the  way  down  the  river. 

One  man  should  not  attempt  to  make  the  trip  alone,  and  where 
four  or  five  go  in  one  party  one  tent,  stove  and  set  of  tools  will  do 
for  all,  thus  making  the  outfit  of  each  lighter  and  also  lessening 
the  cost.  One  of  each  party  should  have  some  knowledge  of  boat 
building  ;  the  boats  mostly  in  use  are  the  long,  double-end  bat- 
eau, but  for  a  party  of  five  or  six  a  scow  of  good  depth  will  be 
found  convenient  and  roomy,  will  run  bad  water  and  is  easily 
built. 


''1 


y4 


20 


GUIDE  TO  THK   YUKON 


THE  START. 


OVKR  THK  SUMMIT  AND  DOWN  I.AKH  IJNDKMAN. 

After  the  outfit  is  completed  the  trip  to  *Taiya,  one  huiulretl 
miles  distant  from  Juneau  and  the  head  of  steamboat  navigation, 
will  be  made  on  the  Scavlin  or  Rustler^  the  charge  being  ten  dol- 
lars for  one  man  and  outfit. 

At  Taiya  the  actual  journey  begins.  If  the  trip  is  made  by 
sleighs  the  parties  usually  do  their  own  work,  but  if  the  snow  and 
ice  have  left  the  canyon  then  the  outfit  will  have  to  be  packed  to 
Lake  Lindeman.  Indian  packers  can  be  found  without  much 
difficulty  to  pack  for  the  regulation  price,  fourteen  dollars  per 
hundred  pounds,  the  distance  being  about  twenty-four  miles. 
Canoes  can  be  used  for  some  six  miles  up  the  Taiya  river  to  the 
canyon  where  the  trail  leads  up  the  rugged  sides  along  a  timbered 
shelf  overlooking  the  canyon  until  Sheep  Camp  is  reached  ;  this  is 
practically  the  timber  line,  and  from  here  to  the  summit  the  trail 
leads  up  a  narrow  and  precipitous  defile.  The  summit  is  fifteen 
miles  distant  and  thirty-five  hundred  feet  above  tide  water. 

Many  glaciers  are  passed  in  the  fifteen  miles.  After  leaving 
the  summit  there  is  a  sheer  descent  of  five  hundred  feet 
to  the  bed  of  Crater  lake.  This  lake  retains  snow  and  ice  all 
the  year  and  undoubtedly  occupies  an  extinct  crater.  The  water 
has  cut  a  small  canyon  down  the  mountain  side  which  should  be 
followed  to  Lake  Lindeman. 


I  1 


h 

1 

I'll 

! 

LAKE  LINDEMAN. 

THE   FIRST   NAVIGABI.E   WATERS   RUNNING   INTO   THE   YUKON. 

Around  the  lake  the  timber  is  nearly  all  burned  off,  there  being 
none  suitable  for  boat  building.  Here  a  raft  should  be  made  with  a 
deck  of  small  poles  some  foot  or  more  above  the  body,  thus  pre- 
venting the  waves  from  wetting  the  outfit  which  should  be  pro- 
tected by  water  tight  sacks  either  of  oilskin  or  canvas.  The  dried 
timber  makes  good  material  for  rafts,  but  as  it  is  small  a  great 
deal  will  necessarily  have  to  be  used.  Lake  Lindeman  occupies 
the  terminus  of  the  same  valley  occupied  by  Lake  Bennett,  and  is 
separated  from  the  latter  by  a  short  portage  of  three- fourths  of  a  mile 
the  fall  in  this  distance  being  about  twenty  feet.  The  stream  con- 

*Spelled  Dyea  in  advertisements  and  by  the  white  inhabitants. 


wv  •    ^  r     .  ^^.atf^a.jv^-i 


de  by 
w  and 
ced  to 

much 
irs  per 

miles. 

to  the 
mbered 
;  this  is 
le  trail 
J  fifteen 

leaving 
red  feet 
1  ice  all 
le  water 
hould  be 


YUKON. 

lere  being 
ade  with  a 
thus  pre- 
i  be  pro- 
The  dried 
.all  a  great 
I  occupies 
lett,  and  is 
bs  of  a  mile 
,tream  con- 


i/ 


i^. 


I  ?**■) 


aeciueuLs  may 


i 


-**»^k«fc: 


^•^>. 


20 


'T"^«- 


'  *'»"wa 


\i 


i 


A 

mil' 


/ 


w  .^l^."/?=-V'  'f"^ 


1*< 


■  "■',-,'■!, 


->**,*'■ 


/ 


'"•'^fr.*. 


/    /rf'W  .. 


■-ifcsf 


-^ 


^J        .^:. 


I 


:^ 


.•I 

'i 


'v;\- 


^tjl 


. .  r- 


the  fall  in  this  distance  being  about  twenty  teet.    i  ae  hucctm 


•Spelled  D)'ea  in  advertisement's  and  by  the  white  inhabitants. 


GUIDR   TO  THE  YUKON 


^ 


necting  the  two  is  crooked  and  very  rocky,  making  it  highly  un- 
safe for  a  boat.  The  landing  at  Lindeman  is  on  the  right  and 
there  is  a  good  Indian  trail  over  the  sandy  soil. 

The  formation  of  the  I^ake  Lindeman  country  is  granite,  like  that 
of  the  Coast  range;  the  mountains  are  high  and  precipitous  on  all 
sides,  forming  a  scene  of  wildness  and  grandeur  rmequalled.  Two 
s..iall  streams  enter  Lindeman  at  the  head,  one  occupying  the 
canyon  follovv-ed  by  the  trail  from  Crater  lake,  the  other  run- 
ning irom  the  west  and  connecting  two  small  lakes  with  Linde- 
man. 

The  lower  end  of  this  lake  is  shallow  and  filled  with  boulders, 
the  portage  being  only  a  pile  of  moraine  caused  by  glacial  action 
through  which  the  o'ttlet  passes.  Lake  Lindeman  is  about  six  miles 
long  with  an  average  width  of  one  mile,  and  opens  up 
from  May  15th  to  June  loth.  After  reaching  Lake  Bennett  the 
journey  may  be  continued  by  raft,  or  by  going  "^  a  small  river, 
which  enters  the  head  of  the  lake  from  the  west,  a  distance  of 
one  mile,  where  good  boat  timber  may  be  found.  This  river  comes 
tearing  down  the  mountain  side,  forming  a  succession  of  rapids 
and  bringing  material  that  has  shoaled  the  head  of  Lake  Betniett 
for  some  distance. 


WHIP  SAWING. 


If  it  is  decided  to  build  the  boat  at  that  point  the  timber  will  have 
to  be  packed  from  where  it  is  sawed  to  navigable  water.  The 
only  timber  here  used  in  the  construction  of  boats  is  spruce  or 
Norway  pine.  After  locating  the  timber  the  first  thing  necessarj^ 
is  the  construction  of  a  saw-pit.  This  is  done  by  finding  trees  so 
arranged  as  to  support  the  cross  pieces  which  are  notched  to  fit 
the  stump  that  has  been  cut  the  proper  distance  from  the  ground. 
If  four  trees  cannot  be  found  to  act  as  supports,  the  saw-pit 
may  be  built  by  cutting  small  trees  into  short  pieces  and  build- 
ing up  to  the  proper  1  eight.  Often  a  good  axman  will  be  able  to  fell 
the  tree  to  be  sawed  into  the  pit,  thus  saving  the  time  and  trouble 
of  skidding  up  and  rolling  the  log  in  place,  which  sometimes  proves 
a  very  difficult  task.  The  greatest  care  should  always  be  taken 
that  the  cross  pieces  are  firmly  in  place  and  not  liable  to  slip,  or 
accidents  may  occur.      An  accompanying  cut  will  give  .some  idea 


"  i 


ilii 


I 


11 


22 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


of  the  manner  in  which  the  pit  should  be  buih,  showing  the  log 
blocked  in  place  so  as  to  rest  firmly  on  the  cross  pieces. 

It  should  first  be  slabbed  after  ascertaining  how  wide  a  board  it 
will  make.  The  ends  are  squared  and  a  plumb  line  made  down  the 
center  of  each  end,  then  half  the  width  of  the  board  to  be 
sawed  will  be  laid  off  each  side  of  this  center  line  and  a  line  struck 
from  end  to  end  on  top,  the  log  turned  over  and  lined  on  the  un- 
der side.  This  will  bring  the  lumber  sawed  as  nearly  out  of  the 
center  as  possible.  Then  turn  it  back  in  place  and  the  top  line  will 
be  found  directlj'  above  th€  bottom  one.  After  the  slabs  are 
taken  off  and  the  log  turned  so  the  slabbed  side  will  rest  on  the 
cross  pieces,  make  a  plumb-line  again  at  right  angles  with  the 
slab,  then  mark  off  as  many  boards  each  side  of  this  line  as  the 
log  will  make  and  line  them  top  and  bottom.  The  ends  may  be 
all  sawed  up  to  the  cross  pieces  and  the  log  moved  one  way  or 
the  other  until  the  scarf  will  admit  the  saw. 

After  the  lumber  is  sawed  it  will  probably  need  some  dressing. 
The  slabs  will  answer  for  oars  and  timbers  for  the  boat,  which 
will  be  built  according  to  the  needs  of  the  party. 


LAKE  BENNETT  AND  TAGISH  I^AKE. 


Lake  Bennett  has  an  average  breadth  of  one  mile  with  an  ex- 
treme breadth  of  five,  and  is  twenty-six  miles  long.  In  running 
this  lake  on  raft  or  in  boat  much  care  should  be  taken,  as  strong 
winds  are  sure  to  be  encountered.  These  are  noticed  most  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  lake,  which  occupies  virtually  a  large  canyon. 
The  winds  are  alwaj's  in  the  south  and  are  caused  bj'  the  hot  air 
of  the  inland  valleys,  which  in  turn  is  supplemented  by  the 
cooler  air  of  the  coast,  rushing  inland  over  the  low  passes 
and  down  the  lakes.  High  mountains  rise  abruptly  on  either  side 
making  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  find  a  landing  for  some  miles 
down  the  lake. 

Lake  Bennett  thus  forms  a  funnel  for  the  Chilkoot  pass,  while 
Windy  Arm  is  continually  swept  by  the  currents  of  the  White 
pass.  These  winds  die  out  in  the  latter  part  of  the  night  and 
early  morning,  but  as  the  sun's  warm  rays  heat  the  inland  val- 
leys their  force  increases  until  they  reach  the  dignity  of  a  high 
gale,  which  sometimes  delays  the  boatmen  for  days.  Few  have 
^  ever  crossed  the  Windy  Arm  without  having  good  cause  to  re- 
member it. 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


23 


A  large  arm  comes  into  Bennett  from  the  west  which 
Schwatka  called  Wheeton  river.  Lake  Bennett  is  surrounded 
by  lofty  mountains,  some  reaching  a  height  of  eight  thousand  feet. 

About  five  miles  down  the  lake  the  formation  changes  froffi  the 
Coast  range  granite  to  that  of  limestone,  the  change  forming  a  defi- 
nite line  which  crosses  the  lake  obliquely  and  can  be  followed 
for  miles.  The  formation  for  miles  north  of  this  is  carboniferous 
with  croppings  of  coal  and  iron.  Volcanic  material  is  found 
here  as  well  as  along  the  entire  length  of  the  route.  The  lower 
end  of  Bennett  broadens  out  into  a  beautiful  valley  which  stretches 
away  to  the  north.  It  proved  a  great  disappointment  when  we 
learned  that  our  course  turned  abruptly  around  the  mountain  to 
the  east  instead  of  following  this  inviting  looking  country,  which 
we  had  felt  sure  was  the  course  of  the  river. 

Low-terraced,  grassy  and  open-timbered  slopes  here  skirt  the 
lakes  and  foothills  of  the  higher  mountains  as  well  as  all  the 
lakes  below.  The  climate  is  quite  dry,  and  little  rain  falls  except 
an  occasional  thunder-shower.  The  sun  is  warm  and  the  clouds 
fleecy,  but  the  snow-capped  peaks  always  give  the  air  those  cool, 
bracing  propensities  which  prove  so  disastrous  to  the  bacon  and 
beans. 

CARIBOU  CROSSING. 


itil 


The  connecting  waters  between  Lake  Bennett  and  Tagish  lake 
constitute  what  is  called  Caribou  crossing.  Here  there  is  a  slight 
current  while  the  channel  is  very  crooked  and  shallow.  This  is 
one  oi  the  crossings  used  by  the  bands  of  barren-land  caribou 
in  their  migration  south  in  the  fall  and  return  in  the  spring. 

To  the  west  a  number  of  low,  irregular  sand  hills  border  the 
crossing  and  Tagish  lake,  extending  around  the  broad  valley  at 
the  north  end  of  Lake  Bennett.  Along  the  hills  the  trail  followed 
by  the  bands  of  caribou  can  be  traced  for  miles. 


WINDY  ARM. 


Two  miles  from  Caribou  crossing  the  Windy  Arm  enters  Tag- 
ish lake.  There  are  three  islands  at  its  mouth,  while  beyond  are 
high  mountains  of  limestone  and  marble  The  marble  is  of  a 
fine  quality  and  curiously  marked  v^'ith  gray  and  black,  which 


I 


24 


GUIDE    TO    THE    YUKON 


would  undoubtedly  give  a  beautiful  effect  when  polished.  Beyond 
these  cliffs  a  dome-shaped  mountain  can  be  seen  standing  out 
alone  and  of  very  defined  form  ;  it  appears  to  be  of  massive 
limestone.  On  the  west  the  country  becomes  better  timbered  and 
a  few  miles  further  the  lake  arm  comes  in  from  the  south-east. 
This  appears  to  be  the  main  lake,  it  being  much  the  larger,  oc- 
cupying a  large,  broad  valley  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach. 

I  was  informed  by  an  Indian  that  it  runs  back  three  days'  journey 
or  forty  miles,  also  that  other  lakes  lie  beyond  and  that  the  con- 
nections have  no  currents;  thus  it  becomes  impossible  to  tell  the 
extent  of  navigable  waters  of  this  wonderful  lake  system,  they 
not  having  been  explored.  These  lakes  lie  at  an  elevation  of  about 
twenty-two  hundred  feet  above  sea  level  and  represent  hundreds 
of  miles  of  navigable  waters  surrounded  by  a  good  grazing 
country,  rich  in  minerals  and  good  timber,  while  all  the  hardy 
vegetables  grow  well.  A  large  fish  of  symmetrical  lines  is  found 
here  that  rises  readily  to  a  troll  and  has  every  appearance  of  the 
landlocked  salmon.  It  is  of  salmon  color  but  turns  white  as  .soon 
as  placed  on  the  fire,  and  is  almost  tasteless  when  cooked. 

Tagish  lake  is  connected  with  Lake  Marsh  by  a  wide  reach  of 
river  with  a  sluggish  current.  The  banks  are  bordered  by  ter- 
raced and  open  wooded  slopes  and  the  valley  is  broad  especially 
to  the  west. 

The  timber  here  is  mostly  cottonwood  and  white  spruce.  This 
piece  of  river  is  five  miles  long  and  in  some  places  very  shallow, 
like  the  lower  end  of  Tagish  lake.  The  water  in  this  lake  is 
clear  and  covers  the  hard,  gravelly  bottom  to  a  depth  of  four  or 
five  feet,  for  nearly  its  entire  lower  end,  which  is  three  miles  wide 
and  five  miles  long. 


TAGISH  HOUSE. 


On  this  piece  of  river  is  located  the  famous  Tagish  house  where 
councils  of  war  and  the  yearly  festivals  are  held.  These  build- 
ings are  the  only  permanent  buildings  .seen  in  all  the  country 
above  Pellj'  river. 

It  was  here  war  was  declared  5'ears  ago  on  the  Coast  Indians, 
which  resulted  so  disastrously  to  the  Sticks.  These  houses  are 
kept  up  by  annual  renovation.  Here  also  is  one  of  their  bury- 
ing grounds  and  crematories. 


I 


Beyond 
ling  out 
massive 
^red  and 
ith-east. 
•ger,  oc- 

journey 
the  con- 
tell  the 
m,  they 
of  about 
lundreds 
grazing 
le  hardy 
is  found 
ce  of  the 
e  as  soon 
d. 

reach  of 
I  by  ter- 
;specially 

;e.  This 
shallow, 
s  lake  is 
)f  four  or 
liles  wide 


use  where 
;se  build- 
e  country 

:  Indians, 
ouses  are 
heir  bury- 


m 


fi 


GUIDE    TO    THE    YUKON 


LAKE  MARSH. 


Lake  Marsh  is  twenty  miles  in  length,  with  an  average  width 
of  more  than  two  miles.  It  occupies  a  notably  broad  valley,  while 
to  the  east  a  iiigh  and  well  defined  range  of  mountains  statidsout 
prominently.  To  the  west  the  country  is  rolling,  except  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  lake,  which  is  bordered  by  meadows.  Many  wild 
fowl  were  seen  here.  Away  to  the  west  a  broken  range  of 
mountains  reaches  a  greater  height  than  those  to  the  east.  Here 
we  saw  the  first  snow  since  the  high  peaks  about  Bennett  dis- 
appeared from  view. 

At  the  lower  end  of  the  lake  a  large  island  stands  just  above  the 
outlet  and  the  McClintock  river  enters  here,  draining  a  broad 
valley  to  the  east.  This  river  cannot  be  of  any  considerable  size 
as  the  Hootalinqua  is  at  no  great  distance. 

Here  huge  piles  of  driftwood,  the  first  of  any  great  size,  are  en- 
countered. The  formations  here  are  of  volcanic  materials,  while 
some  have  a  decided  sandstone  appearance,  and  farther  up  the  lake 
are  clearly  defined  exposures  of  a  slaty  formation,  cut  by  many 
quartz  veins.  The  river  from  here  to  the  canyon  has  about  a 
three  mile  current,  and  occupies  a  valley  of  some  extent.  The 
banks  are  low  and  even  marshy  in  many  places,  bordered  with 
much  good  timber,  with  sloughs  filled  with  duck  and  muskrat, 
not  to  mention  the  swarms  of  mosquitos. 


CUT  BANKS  AND  MARTINS'  NESTS. 


A  few  miles  further  we  come  to  the  first  high  cut  banks 
which  become  so  general  farther  down.  These  are  completely 
honeycombed  by  martin,  that  come  all  this  great  distance  to 
rear  their  young.  Mile  after  mile  of  these  banks,  furnishing 
homes  for  millions  of  these  playful  little  birds,  is  passed. 

SALMON. 


This  stretch  of  the  river  is  the  limit  of  the  salmon's  travels, 
few  ever  reaching  Lake  Marsh.  The  mighty  waters  of  the 
canyon  sap  the  remaining  strength  after  their  long  journey  and  it 
seems  strange  how   this   beautiful   fish   must   labor  for  months 


26 


GUIDK    TO    THIC    YUKON 


against  the  current,  only  to  die  after  de]iosltiiig  their  spawn.  The 
sahnon  here  are  the  finest  in  the  world  and  will  average  forty 
pounds  each.  They  run  in  pairs,  the  male  keeping  close  to  the 
female,  and  when  the  si)awn  has  become  ripe  enough  to  be 
S([uee/ed  out  by  .some  friendly  rock,  he  is  always  on  hand  to 
cover  the  whole  with  a  milky  substance  e.s.sential  to  in.sure  the 
arrival  of  the  hundreds  of  little  lives  which  find  their  way  to  the 
mother  .sea  only  to  return  as  did  their  progenitors  and  furnish 
food  for  bruin,  for  after  spawning  they  .soon  die. 

The  bear  all  come  down  from  their  homes  in  the  mountains  to 
dine  and  fatten  on  this  fish,  a  part  of  the  head  being  their  favorite 
morsel.  In  the  month  of  August  dozens  of  bear  can  be  seen  any 
day  along  the  river. 

Many  .smooth  and  grassy  hills  border  the  river,  and  a  few  miles 
above  the  canyon  Silver  creek  enters  among  a  confusion  of  dome- 
like, sandy  hills.  The  current  becomes  stronger  and  the  roar  of 
many  riffles  keeps  the  canyon  constantly  in  mind.  This  will  be 
known,  however,  by  afriendly  sign  on  the  right  hand  side  reading: 
"  Danger,  vStop."  The  right  side  .should  be  followed  clo.sely  here 
and  as  soon  as  the  sign  is  passed  a  friendly  eddy  can  be  easily 
made  ju.st  at  the  entrance  of  the  grand  canyon. 


liMi' 


GRAND  CANYON  AND  WHITE  HORvSE  RAPIDvS. 


On  the  right  and  at  the  entrance  to  the  canyon  there  is  a  good 
skidway  used  by  the  miners  for  transporting  their  boats. 

The  canyon  proper  is  five-eighths  of  a  mile  long,  but  the  distance 
to  portage  is  nearer  one  mile,  while  that  run  by  the  boats  is  three 
fourths  of  a  mile.  The  canyon  is  cut  through  a  horizontal  ba.salt 
bed  and  the  walls  range  in  height  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet,  and  are  worn  into  all  kinds  of  fanta.stic  shapes.  The 
canyon  has  an  average  v^'idtli  of  about  one  hundred  feet  and  the 
force  of  the  water  of  this  mighty  river,  crowded  and  piled  up  in 
this  small  .space,  can  hardly  be  realized.  The  river  above  has  an 
average  width  of  250  yards  and  the  water  of  the  canyon  must 
necessarily  be  deep.  I  heard  of  a  huge  rock  ju.st  within  its  en- 
trance, but  could  see  no  signs  of  it  either  from  the  walls  or  from 
the  boat  as  I  passed  through.  I  believe  there  is  little  danger  in 
shooting  this  canyon  with  a  good  boat,  unless  the  steersman  should 
lose  his  head.     The  water  is  crowded  up  to  a  crest  in  the  center 


The 

)rty 

the 

be 

to 

the 

the 

nish 


\ 


fully  four  fed 
foutul  in  keei 
But  once  ove 
little  would  I: 
the  distance  ( 
seconds  and 
for^jotten. 

My  boat  wi 

long  and  well 

and  clinched 

of  outfit  besi' 

of  cooked  pn 

everything  t: 

filling  as  it  s 

When  we  er 

on  the  right  i 

nail  was  stai 

which  neces! 

description  ^ 

while  it  niaj 

ajjparent  to 

of  gazing  or 

ing  through 

We   arrar 

steering  swe 

our  heavy  b 

the  eddy. 

steerage  wa; 

current  cauj 

shadows  of 

by  the  recoi 

and  fairly  ti 

ent,  then  dc 

to  make   tt 

and  fell  fai 

throughly. 

cover  and  v 

dashing  in 

this  was  rc] 

half  way  t' 


GUIDH    TO    THIv    Yl'KON 


27 


liilly  four  fcc't  luKlier  than  at  the  walls,  and  little  dilTiciilty  will  be 
fountl  ill  keeping  the  boat  on  this  crest  if  it  is  kept  under  control. 
Hut  once  over  the  crest  there  is  danger  of  striking  the  wall  and 
little  would  be  left  of  boat  or  cargo  in  this  case.  My  boat  made 
the  distance  ofthree-cjuarters  of  a  mile  in  two  miiuites  and  twenty 
seconds  and  the  experience  is  surely  an  exciting  one  and  not  to  be 
forgotten. 

My  boat  was  strongly  built  of  five-eighth  boards,  twenty-two  feet 
long  and  well  braced  with  one  and  thrQe-cpiarter  inch  timbers  nailed 
and  clinched  with  wire  nails.  It  carried  about  nine  hundred  pounds 
of  outfit  besides  ourselves.  We  removed  the  camera,  plates,  a  bag 
of  cooked  provisions  and  our  guns,  stored  the  rest  close  and  lashed 
everythiug  tight,  covering  all  with  a  tarpaulin,  thus  preventing  its 
filling  as  it  struck  its  nose  through  the  crest  of  the  heavy  combers. 
When  we  emerged  from  the  dark  walls  and  entered  the  eddy 
on  the  right  at  the  foot,  our  boat  was  leaking  badly  and  nearly  every 
nail  was  started  ;  this  was  caused  mostly  from  being  overloaded 
which  necessarily  made  the  strain  greater.  Perha])s  an  attempted 
description  of  this  short  journey  will  not  be  out  of  place,  and 
while  it  may  satisfy  those  who  never  make  it,  its  feebleness  will  be 
apparent  to  those  fortunate  enough  to  experience  the  satisfaction 
of  gazing  on  this  hell  of  seething  waters,  after  successfully  shoot- 
ing through  the  dark  aby.ss. 

We  arranged  everything  satisfactorily  in  the  boat,  tried  the 
steering  sweep's  strength,  discarded  all  possible  clothing  even  to 
our  heavy  boots,  took  our  respective  places  and  pulled  far  out  into 
the  eddy.  My  partner  strained  every  muscle  at  the  oars  to  give 
steerage  way  that  we  might  enter  straight.  The  ever  increasing 
current  caught  us  and  our  boat  seemed  fairly  to  shoot  into  the  dark 
shadows  of  those  grotesque  and  weird  walls  until  it  was  caught 
by  the  recoil  of  the  first  great  breaker ;  here  it  almost  stopped 
and  fairly  trembled  as  if  in  fear  to  proceed,  but  only  for  a  mom- 
ent, then  dashed  on  to  its  crest  and  with  one  mighty  bound  tried 
to  make  the  next  high  place,  but  it  was  too  heavily  loaded 
and  fell  far  short,  shooting  through  instead,  drenching  us  most 
throughly.  As  it  raised  up  the  water  poured  off  of  the  canvas 
cover  and  we  were  rushing  on  to  the  next  with  clouds  of  spray  • 
dashing  in  blinding  sheets  against  our  faces.  In  the  first  stretch 
this  was  repeated  several  times  until  we  reached  the  basin  about 
half  way  through,   which  forms   an   eddy  and  is  comparatively 

3 


mu 


'28 


GUIDE    TO    THE    YUKON 


V      J     ': 


1 5     * 


smooth.  Here  we  bei^an  to  breathe  again,  having  held  our  breath 
for  just  one  minute  and  eight  seconds,  and  prepared  for  the  second 
and  home  stretch.  This  proved  to  be  the  worst,  as  at  the  la.st 
pitch  the  canyon  makes  a  turn  and  the  force  of  the  water  as  it 
strikes  the  wall  and  turns  back  is  irresistible,  but  it  is  all 
over  so  ciuickly  there  is  no  time  to  turn  pale  or  even  to  re- 
member just  how  things  were  managed.  I  had  my  camera 
on  the  walls  overlooking  the  canyon  and  focused  it  on  a  high 
comber  and  Mr.  Bramer  was  kind  enough  to  work  the  pneumatic 
shutter  giving  instantaneous  exposure. 

The  contrast  between  those  foaming  waters  and  the  dark  walls 
of  the  canyon  rendered  it  a  hard  object  to  photograph,  but  the  re- 
sult can  be  seen  on  the  opposite  page,  which  will  convey  some 
idea  of  the  canyon  as  seen  from  the  walls  above. 

The  distance  of  three-fourths  of  a  mile  was  made  in  two  min- 
utes and  twenty  seconds,  which  is  the  gait  of  a  good  trotting  horse 
on  a  smooth  track.  Imagine  a  boat  loaded  with  two  men  and 
nine  hundred  pounds  dashing  alongside  of  a  light  pneumatic 
sidky  drawn  by  a  good  trotting  horse,  and  some  idea  of  the  trip 
will  be  had. 


WHITE  HORSE  PAPIDS. 


The  White  Horse  rapids  are  about  two  miles  below  the  canyon, 
ar.d  being  filled  with  rapids  and  sunken  boulders  this  part  of  the 
trip  .should  be  well  looked  out  l)efore  starting.  There  is  one 
short  place  where  mo.  \  of  the  miners  portage.  The  skidway  is 
on  the  east  side  and  not  more  than  one  hundred  yards  long.  By 
keeping  the  we.st  bank,  little  trouble  will  be  found  running  the 
whole  distance  to  the  head  of  White  Horse,  if  the  boat  is  under 
complete  control.  But  if  it  is  unwieldy  the  portage  is  prefer- 
able. Just  before  reaching  the  White  Horse  there  is  a  compara- 
tively .smooth  stretch  of  river  giving  an  opportunity  to  land  on 
the  long  point  just  above  the  great  bend. 

The  boat  can  be  dropped  from  here  down  to  the  eddy  where 
everything  will  have  to  be  portaged.  The  portage  here  is  on  the 
west  side.  The  river  is  confined  between  low  basalt  walls  and 
the  last  pitch  is  scarcely  ninety  feec  wide.  Here  the  water  presents 
a  formidable  spectacle  and  is  seldom  run,  yet  the  best  boat  with 


th 
lid 
ist 
it 
all 
re- 


GUIDE    TO    THE    YUKON 


29 


good  boatmsii  will,  I  believe,  come  through  all  right.  The  boats 
can  be  lowered  by  long  ropes  down  to  the  last  pitch  where  a  short 
portage  of  a  hundred  feet  will  be  made.  From  the  entrance  of 
the  canyon  to  the  foot  of  White  Horse  rapids  is  about  three  miles, 
which  can  never  be  made  navigable  for  river  steamers. 


^v 


;i^ 


PROPOSED  TRAMWAY   ROUTE. 


There  is  to  the  east  a  long  level  valley  which  runs  to  the  head 
of  White  Horse  rapids,  where  a  tramway  could  be  easily  built 
and  operated  ;  while  from  the  head  to  the  foot  of  the  White 
Horse  a  slightly  elevated  shelf  forms  a  natural  roadbed.  This 
occupies  the  even  flow  of  the  volcanic  bed  and  only  where  the 
river  makes  the  turn  at  the  head  would  any  work  be  necessary  for 
the  entirj  length.  Power  for  such  a  tramway  could  easily  be  pro- 
cured from  the  falls.  The  lake  boats  could  connect  with  this 
above  the  canyon,  while  the  river  boats  could  run  up  to  its  lower 
terminus. 

Here  the  country  shows  great  evidence  of  the  glacial  period  and 
the  low  grassy-terraced  hills  of  the  east  would  furnish  fine  grai,mg, 
while  to  the  west  they  are  more  abrupt,  and  further  away  are  fine 
forests  of  spruce  and  pine.  Many  boats  were  lost  in  these  three 
miles  of  river  last  spring  ;  some  were  turned  loose  and  went  to 
pieces  on  the  rocks,  while  others  were  swamped  in  lowering. 

An  interesting  story  was  told  me  of  two  Swedes  who  came  down 
the  river  last  spring  and  were  carried  into  the  canyon  by  accident. 
There  were  many  miners  at  the  portage  at  the  time,  and  no  sooner 
did  the  boat  strike  the  rough  water,  than  the  Swedes  threw  up 
their  hands  and  crouched  in  the  bottom  of  their  boat.  It  was  a 
good  one  and  lode  the  waters  well  until  the  eddy  was  reached, 
when,  having  no  guiding  hand,  it  shot  into  the  eddy  in.stead  of 
passing  on  down  ^he  los'er  stretch.  The  current  of  this  eddy  is 
very  .strong  atid  the  wulls  are  about  150  feet  high.  With  all  tbeir 
efforts  the>  could  not  induce  the  l:)oat  to  leave  the  circle,  and  they 
.soon  gave  up  the  task  and  lay  down  in  the  boat  perfectly  resigned 
to  their  fate.  They  were  entirely  out  of  reach  of  any  assistance 
froui  the  banks  and  after  about  six  hours  of  this  circling  the  boat 


30 


GUIDK  TO  THE  YUKON 


Nl' 


left  the  eddy  by  one  of  those  unaccountable  freaks  of  such  places, 
and  they  were  soon  safely  landed  below. 

TAHKEENA  RIVER. 


This  river  is  a  good  sized  stream.  The  current  is  not  so  swift 
as  that  of  the  Lewis  river,  which  joins  about  fifteen  miles  be- 
low the  White  Horse  rapids.  It  is  probably  little  more  than  half 
as  large  as  the  Lewis  river,  and  is  bordered  by  high  hills  which 
to  the  westward  reach  the  dignity  of  mountains,  apparently  of 
granite.  The  Tahkeena  is  said  to  drain  a  large  lake  to  the  west 
some  seventy  miles,  and  is  the  inland  waterway  used  in  connection 
v'*h  Hie  Chilkat  pass,  which  is  made  accessible  by  the  west  arm  of 
L.  canal.  This  pa.ss,  while  low,  is  long  and  less  used  than 
forui  rly  by  the  Indians,  and  never  by  the  miners.  This  river  has 
no  rapids  of  any  note,  making  it  easy  to  ascend. 


LAKE  LABARGE. 


Lake  Labarge  is  about  twelve  miles  below  the  Tahkeena  river. 
These  twelve  miles  of  river  the  most  of  the  distance  run  through  a 
large  valley,  much  of  which  is  flat  and  low,  scarcely  higher  than 
the  lake  to  the  east,  terminating  in  tue  Sandstone  range  bordering 
the  lake.  The  river  has  cut  many  channels  through  the  bank  of 
sand  and  clay,  and  some  of  these  save  miles  by  cutting  across. 
Lake  Labarge  is  about  thirty-one  miles  long,  with  an  average 
breadth  of  five  miles,  and  in  some  places  it  is  much  wider. 
This  lake  gets  very  rough  and  is  one  of  the  windiest  of  the  whole 
system.  The  formations  about  this  lake  are  very  marked  and  sin- 
gular— mostly  of  limestone  to  the  east — and  rise  abruptly  from  the 
water  in  some  places^  while  beyond  these,  still  higher  mountains 
rise  which  separate  the  Hootalinqua  from  the  waters  running  into 
the  Lewis.  There  are  many  beautiful  little  lakes  in  these  mount- 
ains some  five  or  six  hundred  feet  above  the  surface  of  Lake  La- 
barge, which  has  an  elevation  ot  2100  feet.  To  the  west  the  hills 
are  wooded  more  or  less.  At  the  southwest  end  a  small  stream 
enters  through  a  broad,  level  valley,  while  another  enters 
from  the  west  near  its  northern  end.     The  outlet  here  turns  to  the 


m 


GUIDE    TO    THE    YUKON 


31 


east  and  cuts  through  the  hills  instead  of  following  the  broad,  low 
valley  which  we  had  supposed  it  would  follow.  The  lake  lies 
nearly  north  and  south  and  seems  to  be  very  deep,  especially  along 
its  eastern  shore.  After  leaving  this,  the  last  of  the  lakes,  the 
current  of  the  river  soon  increases  to  five  and  six  miles  per  hour. 
The  river  has  cut  its  way  among  the  jumble  of  hills  leaving  it 
very  crooked,  many  times  nearly  doubling  on  itself.  The  bed  is 
filled  with  boulders  and  would  probably  need  some  work  to  make 
it  safe  for  river  steamers.  While  boats  could  undoubtedly  ascend, 
it  would  be  impossible  to  descend  with  any  degree  of  safety  while 
forced  along  by  the  strong  current.  The  hills  come  down  to  the 
water's  edge  and  in  some  places  are  well  timbered.  The  cut  clay 
banks  are  common  from  here  on  to  the  Pelly  river. 


.;■%■. 


m 


'•'■tltis 


■rl 


HOOTALINQUA  RIVER. 


About  twenty-eight  miles  from  Lake  Labarge  the  Hootalinqua 
river  enters  fiv.ni  the  east  and  at  its  confluence  with  the  Lewis 
seems  quite  as  large.  The  current  is  much  milder  and  therefore 
carries  a  smaller  quantity  of  water.  While  this  river  is  known  to 
the  miners  as  the  Hootalinqua,  Dawson  calls  it  after  its  Indian 
name  "  Teslintoo,"  Schwatka  called  it  "  Newberry,"  and  the  orig- 
inal coast  survey  "  Wasathan."  This  custom  of  name-changing 
has  been  carried  on  to  such  an  extent  that  it  becomes  conflicting, 
and  as  the  miners  are  the  men  who  open  up  the  country  they  are 
the  authority  that  should  be  followed.  This  river  has  never  been 
explored  to  any  great  extent,  but  it  is  certain  that  it  is  fed  by  an 
enormous  lake  known  as  Te&lin,  and  this  in  turn  by  many  rivers 
of  considerable  si/e.  This  is  undoubtedlj'  a  fact,  as  it  drains  a 
dry  countrj'  lying  bej^ond  the  snow  and  ice  of  the  Coast  range 
and  its  volume  of  water  would  indicate  the  extent  of  country 
to  be  considerable.  Much  flower  gold  has  been  found  along  this 
river  on  all  the  bars,  and  only  the  lack  of  supplies  prevents  rich 
discoveries.  This  will  undoubtedly  be  overcome  in  the  near  fut- 
ure, as  Captain  Healey  told  me  he  would  establish  a  trading  post 
there  this  coming  season.  The  bars  for  miles  below  the  Hoota- 
linqua have  furnished  much  gold,  that  of  the  Cassiar  bei'-g  far 
the  richest.  The  river  has  a  good  five  mile  current  and  is  bor- 
dered by  hills  of  considerable  height. 


%im 


32 


GUIDE    TO    THE    YUKON 


i 


BIG  SALMON  RIVKR. 


Thirty-one  miles  from  the  Hootalinqua  the  Big  Sahiion  enters 
from  the  same  side  and  is  a  large  river.  Little  definite  infonnation 
conld  be  obtained  concerning  this  river,  except  that  its  bars  carry 
some  gold  and  that  its  source  lies  about  two  hundred  miles  to  the 
south  and  east,  and  like  all  other  rivers  of  the  country  flows 
from  a  number  of  lakes.  It  has  been  little  prospected,  but  all 
who  have  prospected  it  report  gold  ev^erywhere.  This  river,  as 
its  name  would  indicate,  is  a  great  salmon  stream  and  many  In- 
dians spend  the  summer  months  here  preparing  their  winter  sal- 
mon. The  current  is  mild,  compared  with  the  Lewis,  and  the 
water  much  clearer,  as  are  all  the  waters  flowing  from  the  east, 
while  those  from  the  west  show  signs  of  glacial  action  and  vol- 
canic deposits.  Below  the  Big  Salmon  the  hills  are  high  and 
rounded,  many  wooded  to  their  summits.  Some  bars  have  been 
worked  here. 


LITTLE  SALMON  RIVER. 


Thirty-five  miles  farther  down,  the  Little  Salmon  river  enters 
from  the  east  from  among  high  hills  and  does  not  show  much  val- 
ley. This  river  has  never  been  prospected  to  an^^  extent  and  lit- 
tle could  be  learned  of  it  except  as  a  fishing  stream  used  by  the 
Indians.  The  river  makes  many  long  bends  in  this  distance, 
fairly  doubling  on  itself.  From  Little  Salmon  river  to  Five  Fin- 
ger rapids  the  distance  by  river  is  fifty-three  miles  while  in  a 
straight  line  it  would  scarcely  exceed  one-half  of  that  distance. 
The  coiirse  of  the  river  is  very  irregular  with  scarcely  any  valley. 

George  McCormack  has  a  small  trading  post  about  fifteen  miles 
above  Five  Fiiigers,  and  five  and  one-half  miles  farther  up  he  is 
opening  up  a  vein  of  coal  which  shows  well  a  few  feet  from  the  sur- 
face.    It  is  of  a  lignite  character  and  burns  well. 

The  banks  where  cut  by  the  river  are  of  clay,  gravel  and 
volcanic  matter.  They  are  very  high  and  are  constantly  sliding 
into  the  river.  The  current  from  here  to  the  Five  Fingers  is 
about  five  miles  per  hour.  The  country  is  generally  well  wooded, 
birch  being  abundant. 


^m 


,•  '»■ 


IP 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


88 


FIVE  FINGERS. 


This  rapid  is  short,  but  the  drop  caused  by  the  five  columns  of 
rock,  which  partly  obstruct  the  river's  course,  is  considerable  and 
would  prove  an  obstruction  to  river  steamers,  although  it  would  be 
possible  at  a  reasonable  cost  to  blast  out  one  of  these  columns. 
This  could  be  done  in  the  winter  with  little  difficulty  and  would 
widen  the  channel  enough  to  les.sen  the  fall.  lyittle  trouble  will 
be  experienced  in  running  this  rapid  with  a  good  boat,  although 
several  accidents  have  occurred  here.  The  channel  to  the  right  is 
the  one  usually  run.  The  illustration  was  taken  from  the  high 
bank  some  distance  below,  from  the  west  side.  The  country  here 
is  generally  wooded  with  terraced,  open,  grassy  slopes  on  the 
southern  hillsides. 


■1 


RINK  RAPIDS. 


These  rapids  are  some  six  miles  below  Five  Fingers  and  are 
formed  by  a  "bar  of  rocks  reaching  nearly  across  the  river.  This, 
on  the  west  side,  is  quite  as  bad  as  the  Five  Fingers  but  on  the 
€ast  there  is  scarcely  a  ripple  and  a  small  river  steamer  would 
have  no  difficulty  in  following  this  shore.  In  running  here,  by 
keeping  close  to  the  east  shore,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  stop  at 
all.  The  valley  now  becomes  wider  while  the  hills  are  less  defined. 
The  river  rapidly  widens  also,  and  islands  are  numerous.  The 
current  runs  about  five  miles  an  hour  while  farther  down  it  in- 
creases to  fully  six  miles.  About  thirty  miles  below  some  singular 
formations  occur  ;  one  particular  mound-shaped  butte  rises  out  of 
a  flat,  while  others  come  down  to  the  river's  edge.  Some  crop- 
pings  of  quartz  are  seen  in  these  bluffs.  Farther  down,  the  river 
becomes  wider  and  so  filled  with  islands  that  it  is  hard  to  tell 
where  the  shores  are,  until  the  high  hills  on  the  west  are  reached. 
These  come  down  to  the  water  very  abrupt  and  the  current  is  in- 
creased. 

OLD  FORT  SELKIRK. 

Old  Fort  Selkirk  is  fifty-five  miles  from  Five  Fingers  and  just 
below  the  confluence  of  the  Felly  and  Lewis  rivers.  Here  Harper 


!li 


84 


ovum  TO  TIIK   Yl'KON 


Ml 


ri 


J^ 


has  a  tradinj,'  i)ost  and  Captain  Healey's  company  winter  their  boat, 
the  /'.  /;.   irarrc. 

On  the  east  side  there  is  a  liij;h  basalt  plateau,  said  to  have  come 
from  a  larjj;e  volcano  some  thirty  miles  np  Pelly  river.  It  has  an 
al)rupt  front  and  has  crowded  the  river  some  distance  t-»  the  west, 
which  it  follows  some  six  or  eight  miles  where  it  terminates  in 
hills  of  sand  and  lime-stone. 

Just  below  the  confluence  of  the  Pelly  and  Lewis  rivers  is  the 
point  at  which  old  Fort  vSelkirk  stood  before  it  was  pillaged  and 
burned,  August  i,  1852,  by  the  Coast  Indians.  Only  the  ruins  of 
the  chinnieys  can  now  be  found.  Fine  gardens  belonging  to  the 
mission  and  post  were  seen  here.  A  good  grazing  country  of  con- 
siderable extent  surrounds  this  site.  The  river  from  here  on  for 
some  distance  has  a  uniform  width  with  abrupt  hills  coming  quite 
down  to  the  water's  edge.  Farther  on  the  river  widens  to  fully 
one  mile  and  contains  many  islands,  all  well  timbered.  The  form- 
ation is  mostly  limestone  with  some  granite,  slate  and  cropping.s 
of  quartz  everywhere. 


WHITE  RIVKR. 


Ninety-.six  miles  from  F'ort  Selkirk  the  White  river  enters  from 
the  west.  It  is  beyond  all  doubt  the  most  wonderful  of  all  thi.s 
great  system  of  rivers.  It  is  a  large  stream  and  carries  a  va.st  vol- 
ume of  water  having  an  eight  to  a  ten  mile  current.  The  water 
is  extremely  nuiddy,  due  to  a  white,  glassy  substance  which  com- 
pletel\'  colors  the  entire  Yukon  until  it  is  but  little  clearer  than 
the  White  river  itself.  The  White  discharges  its  waters  into  the 
Yukon  with  such  a  force  that  the  roar  can  be  heard  for  some  dis- 
tance, atul  this  muddy  tributary  is  projected  nearly  across  the 
swift  current  of  the  main  river.  White  river  drains  a  high, 
mountainous  country  away  to  the  west,  according  to  the  statement 
of  a  Tanana  Indian,  who  has  traveled  the  countr}'  extensively, 
and  who,  with  eight  others,  came  from  Tanana.  They  came 
down  White  river,  to  the  point  on  the  Yukon  where  we  met  them, 
in  a  skin  canoe  built  for  the  purpose.  They  also  informed  us  that 
many  high  mountains  and  a  large  lake  many  days'  travel  to  the 
west  lay  near  the  source  of  the  White,  and  that  one  of  the  mount- 
ains was  many  times  higher  than  the  others  and  was  often  seen 


m 


GUIDE  TO  THK  YUKON 


36 


emitting  fire  and  smoke  and  was  known  to  the  Indians  as 
Thunder  mountain.  I  asked  them  if  the  mountain  was  covered 
with  clouds  most  of  the  time.  They  told  me  that  sometimes  in 
summer  it  could  not  be  seen  and  that  in  the  winter  it  was  never 
visible.  This  would  prove  that  it  was  not  of  the  Coast  range,  if 
such  a  mountain  does  really  exist. 


ifl 
i'l 

I 


VOLCANIC  ASH  DEPOSITS. 


The  White  river  nuist  come  from  a  glacial  region  and  probably 
flows  over  volcanic  deposits,  as  its  sediment  is  similar  to  ashes  and 
is  noticed  all  along  the  river  below  the  lakes.  This  volcanic  ash 
appears  to  have  been  deposited  like  snow,  and  is  said  to  cover  a 
vast  extent  of  territory.  Dr.  Dawson  reports  finding  it  all  along 
the  Pelly  river,  but  found  it  of  a  much  greater  thickness  on  the 
Lewis  river  at  a  point  directly  west  of  the  deposits  on  the  Pelly, 
thus  proving  that  the  seat  of  action  was  to  the  west.  That  the 
deposit  is  of  recent  date,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  as  it  overlays 
driftwood  in  some  of  the  cut  banks  of  the  Lewis  and  is  covered 
with  very  little  soil.  However,  all  the  timber  has  grown  since  its 
fall,  as  I  noticed  trees  of  the  largest  size  growing  on  drift  deposits 
which  overlaid  it  several  feet.  Dawson  says  this  ash  deposit  prob- 
ably covers  25,000  square  miles,  and  he  is  undoubtedly  the  best 
authority  on  such  matters  of  any  one  who  has  visited  that  region. 
His  report  to  the  Canadian  government  shows  him  to  be  the  clos- 
est observer  of  everything,  I  do  not  believe  the  eruption  which 
deposited  this  ash  took  place  in  the  Coast  range.  I  can  find  no 
record  of  its  being  noticed  on  the  coast  or  by  any  of  the  explor- 
ers who  visited  the  vicinity  of  this  range  of  mountains  in  this 
district,  or  in  the  Copper  river  district  beyond  the  Coast  range 
where  it  should  be  more  evident.  This,  and  the  reported  burning 
mountain  of  the  interior,  the  muddy  waters  of  the  White  river, 
the  exceedingly  muddy  condition  o^"  pU  these  waters,  the  fact  that 
the  deposit  at  the  time  of  actioii  >,'.s  doubtless  of  a  very  light 
character  and  that  the  prevailing  west  winds  would  prevent  its  fall- 
ing to  any  extent  to  the  west,  all  these  facts  go  to  prove  that  the  ac- 
tion took  place  near  the  head  waters  of  the  White  river,  and  the 
possible  existence  of  an  active  volcano  there  at  the  present  time. 

The  Yukon  rapidly  widens  below  the  White  river  to  fully  one 


M 


GUIDK  To  TIIK  YUKON 


mile  and  contains  many  islands,  all  well  timbered.     The  valley 
also  widens  with  the  river. 


vSTEWART  RIVIvR. 


u 


Ten  miles  below  the  White  river  the  Stewart  river  enters  from 
the  east  and  hel])s  swell  the  already  mighty  Ynkon.  The  Stewart 
has  a  mild  current  with  deep,  darkish  waters.  It  is  bordered  by 
rolling  hills,  which  in  turn  are  backed  by  high  hills,  rising  to  the 
dignity  of  mountains  in  many  places.  The  bars  of  the  river 
have  furnished  lucrative  diggings  for  years  to  many  miners  and 
many  hundred  miles  of  tributaries  and  gulches  yet  remain  to  be 
prospected.  It  is  probabh'  navigable  for  small  river  steamers  for 
many  miles  and  is  said  to  drain  .some  large  lakes  away  to  the 
south-east.  It  is  undoubtedly  three  hundred  miles  in  length,  not 
counting  its  many  tributaries.  Just  below  the  mouth  on  the  west 
are  some  abrupt  hills,  apparently  of  lime.stone. 


SIXTY  MILK  CREEK. 


Seventy  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Stewart  rive  'y  Mile  creek 

enters  from  the  west.  Harper  and  Ladue  have  a  trading  post 
and  a  saw-mill  hereon  an  island.  About  one  hundred  miners  an- 
nually winter  here.  Sixty  Mile  creek  has  a  .swift  current  and  is- 
filled  with  rapids,  making  it  very  difficult  to  ascend.  Miller  creek 
enters  Sixty  Mile  creek  about  seventy  miles  from  its  mouth, 
lyittle  traveling  to  Miller  creek  is  done  all  the  way  by  water,  for 
it  is  much  easier  to  ascend  Sixty  Mile  creek  and  portage  over  the 
Bald  hills  to  the  head  of  Miller.  Below  Sixty  Mile  creek  the  Yu- 
kon holds  its  usual  current  and  contains  many  islands.  The  val- 
ley is  not  .so  broad,  however,  the  hills  being  abrupt  and  of  various 
formations,  abundant  croppings  of  quartz  being  seen  every- 
where. 

INDIAN  CREEK  IVND  CI.ONDIKE  RIVER. 


Thirty  miles  below  Sixty  Mile  creek,  Indian  creek  enters  the 
Yukon.  Here  discoveries  were  made  last  season  that  were  re- 
ported very  rich.     The  stream  is  rapid,  with  very  little  water,  and 


r: 


^m 


"*^v 


I 


e 

a 

e 


nearly  coverea  wiin  giaeuii  uim  lo  mc  ucptn  ui  many  icci. 


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d 
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is 

XL    is 


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AJJ 


GUIDE   TO   THE   YUKON 


87 


some  of  the  miners  have  ascended  it  a  distance  of  one  hnndred 
miles.  Fifty  miles  from  Sixty  Mile  creek  the  Clondike  river  en- 
ters from  the  east,  and  just  here  the  great  copj^er  belt  crosses  the 
Yukon.  The  Indians  have  a  fishing  camp  at  this  point,  the 
Clondike  being  a  noted  stream  for  salmon.  Its  waters  are  very  clear 
and  shallow,  it  being  one  continual  succession  of  riffles.  It  has 
its  source  in  a  high  range  of  snow-capped  mountains,  probably  a 
spur  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  This  section  of  the  country  abounds 
in  game.  A  great  many  bear  come  down  from  the  mountains  in 
summer  to  feed  on  the  numerous  salmon  that  crowd  up  this  stream 
and  become  easy  prey  to  bruin,  owing  to  the  shallow  water. 
Among  these  bear  is  a  species  of  grizzly  that  is  very  bold  and 
ferocious,  so  much  so,  that  the  Indians  have  a  deadly  fear  of 
hunting  up  this  creek  in  the  salmon  season.  Six  miles  below  are 
the  ruins  of  old  Fort  Reliance.  Many  curious  formations  of  lime 
and  sandstone,  which  have  been  worn  into  fantastic  shapes,  occur. 
Quartz  croppings  are  seen  all  along,  while  granite,  schist,  meta- 
morphic  and  crystalline  rock  similar  to  those  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains are  not  uncommon. 

Twelve  miles  below  Fort  Reliance,  coming  from  the  east,  is  a 
small,  rapid  creek  which,  as  far  as  I  know,  has  no  name.  It 
drains  a  large  and  inviting  valley,  while  high  snow-capped  moun- 
tains can  be  seen  in  the  distance.  This  creek  seems  never  to  have 
been  prospected  and  is  surely  a  promising  looking  spot.  From 
here  to  Forty  Mile  creek,  the  current  is  normal  and  the  river  more 
confined  by  high  banks  and  consequently  has  fewer  islands. 


'   l\ 


FORTY  MILE  CREEK. 


s 


Forty  Mile  creek  received  its  name  from  entering  the  Yukon 
about  forty  miles  from  old  Fort  Reliance.  For  years  its  bars  have 
yielded  large  returns  for  the  labor  expended,  but  these  diggings 
have  been  abandoned  for  some  time  for  the  gulches  that  furnish 
coarse  gold  and  which  have  become  famed  all  over  the  country. 
Forty  Mile  creek  is  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long  and 
has  many  tributaries,  all  of  which  carry  gold  in  paying  quanti- 
ties. It  enters  the  Yukon  from  the  west  and  drains  that  country 
lying  between  the  Yukon  and  Tanana  rivers.  This  country  is 
nearly  covered  with  glacial  drift  to  the  depth  of  many  feet.     It  is 


88 


GUIDE   TO   THE   YUKON 


m 


all  of  peculiar  formation,  there  being  no  defnied  range  of  moun- 
tains, but  a  jumble  of  bald  hills,  the  glacial  drip  of  which  feeds 
hundreds  of  tributaries  to  the  larger  creeks.  The  formation  of 
this  country  will  be  found  marked  upon  the  maps  as  they  occur. 
These  maps  cover  all  of  Forty  Mile  creek  and  its  branches  and 
that  part  of  vSixty  Mile  creek  and  its  gulches  which  is  being 
worked  to  any  extent,  both  the  summer  and  winter  trails  being 
marked  by  dotted  lines.  The  summer  trail  leads  up  Forty  Mile 
creek  by  boat  to  Moose  creek,  a  distance  of  twenty-seven  miles, 
then  by  trail  over  Bald  hills  to  the  head  of  Miller  creek,  a  dis- 
tance of  thirty-four  miles.  Poker.  Davis,  Glacier  and  Little  Gold 
creeks  all  lie  within  a  few  miles  of  Miller  creek. 


MILLER  CREEK. 


Miller  creek  thus  far  has  proved  to  have  the  richest  diggings, 
various  estimates  placing  the  sum  taken  out  last  season  as  high 
as  $300,000.  In  one  claim  alone  :«;35,ooo  were  taken  out  and  the 
place  worked  was  only  thirty  by  one  lumdred  feet,  one  clean-up 
being  made  of  1,100  ounces. 

This  creek  is  not  more  than  six  miles  long  with  about  fifty-four 
claims,  and  many  of  the  lower  claims  are  not  opened  up  to  any 
extent  as  yet.  A  claim  here  consists  of  five  hundred  feet  of  the 
creek  and  may  reach  up  both  sides  of  the  gulch  an  indefinite 
distance.  The  discoverer  is  allowed  two  claims  or  one  thou.sand 
feet. 

Miller  creek  was  prospected  and  given  up  three  times  before  it 
was  thought  profitable  to  work,  thus  showing  how  difficult  pros- 
pecting becomes  here,  owing  to  the  vast  quantities  of  glacial  drift 
everywhere.  Miller  creek  furnishes  work  for  about  125  men,  the 
prevailing  pay  being  ten  dollars  a  day.  Provisions  and  necessities 
are  correspondingly  high:  potatoes  and  onions  sold  for  $1  a  pound; 
flour,  $19-50  per  sack  of  fifty  pounds;  gum  boots,  SiS  per  pair  ; 
butter.  Si. 50  per  pound;  whiskey.  Si  per  glass  and  other  things  in 
proportion.  This  applies  to  all  mining  creeks  lying  near  Miller 
creek,  namely,  Davis  creek.  Pike's  gulch,  Little  Gold  creek  and 
Glacier  creek.  These  prices  are  brought  about  by  the  enormous 
cost  of  packing  from  Forty  Mile  Post  to  the  mines  on  these  creeks. 


r 


m 


GUIDE    ro  THE  YUKON 


39 


FRKIGHTING. 


This  is  done  from  Forty  Mile  Post  up  to  tlie  mouth  of  Moose 
creek  by  freighters  of  from  six  to  eight  tons  burden,  poled  by 
Indians,  and  thence  over  the  hills  to  Miller  creek,  thirty-four  miles 
farther.  Supplies  are  carried  by  miners  and  Indians  and  even 
sleigh  dogs  are  used,  a  good  dog  carrying  as  high  as  fifty  pounds. 
The  total  distance  from  Forty  Mile  Post  to  the  head  of  Miller 
creek  is  about  sixty-one  miles,  and  the  cost  of  freighting  in  sum- 
mer is  $30  per  hundred  pounds.  Two  small  horses  were  used 
here  with  good  result  in  the  summer  of  '94.  The  round  trip  from 
the  mouth  of  Moose  creek  to  Miller,  a  distance  of  thirty-four  miles, 
can  be  made  in  three  days  with  a  load  of  200  pounds.  This  dis- 
tance is  lessened  .some  by  the  winter  trail.  All  freighting  in 
winter  is  done  by  .sleighs  with  dogs  at  a  co.st  of  $10  to  $13  per 
hundred  pounds.  They  haul  much  larger  loads  than  one  would 
.suppose  and  make  long  distances  over  the  ice  and  snow.  Their 
food  consists  entirely  of  dried  salmon  and  they  lie  down  at  night 
in  the  snow  to  rest  and  .sleep  after  their  long,  hard  day's  work, 
often  with  the  thermometer  down  to  sixty  degrees  below  zero. 

GLACIER  CREEK. 


This  creek  lies  east  of  Miller  creek,  three  miles  distant,  running 
nearly  parallel  with  it,  and  being  separated  only  by  a  high  range 
of  hills.  It  has  been  prospected  several  times  but  was  not  located 
till  last  season.  Some  preliminary  work  has  been  done  towards 
opening  it  up.  Such  claims  as  were  prospected  to  any  great  ex- 
tent promise  fair  to  be  equally  as  rich  as  tho.se  on  Miller  creek. 
The  excitement  occurred  in  August  and  was  started  by  .some 
prospectors  who  discovered  rich  finds  in  the  old  dumps  of  previ- 
ous prospectors.  Within  six  hours  the  whole  creek  was  staked 
out,  the  locators  being  mostly  the  hired  miners  of  Miller  creek. 

PROSPECTING  AND  MINING. 


Pro.specthig  in  this  country  is  very  difficult  owing  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  surface,  the  general  formation  being  soft,  the  hills 


40 


GUIDlv   TO   TIIlv    YUKON 


liaviiijj;  Ikcm  worn  smooth  by  glacial  action  which  left  a  layer 
of  drift  over  the  whole  country  to  a  depth  of  from  five  to 
fifteen  feet.  This  is  frozen  the  whole  year  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  inches  on  the  surface. 

The  method  of  prospecting  is  usually  carried  on  by  sinking  a 
number  of  holes  to  bed-rock  across  the  bed  of  the  creek,  or  cro.ss- 
cutting  it  by  a  tunnel  and  testing  the  dirt  every  few  feet  by  pan- 
ning, thus  locating  the  pay-streak.  After  a  creek  has  been  pros- 
pected and  located  then  it  becomes  necessary  to  remove  the  glacial 
drift.  The  trees  and  roots  are  removed  and  a  .stream  of  water  turned 
on  which  with  the  help  of  the  sun  in  time  bares  the  pay-streak.  The 
course  of  the  water  is  then  turned  along  the  side  of  the  hill,  a 
dam  built  and  sluice-boxes  erected.  These  are  made  with  corru- 
gated bottoms  which  catch  and  retain  the  gold.  They  are  given 
a  grade  regulated  by  the  coarsene.ss  of  the  gold;  that  is,  if  the 
gold  is  of  an  exceedingly  fine  quality,  the  grade  will  be  slight,  but 
if  of  a  coarser  character,  a  greater  pitch  can  be  given,  which  is 
always  preferable  as  the  swiftness  of  the  water  enables  a  greater 
quantity  of  dirt  to  be  handled.  The  lack  of  water  in  these  gulches 
proves  a  great  hinderance  in  many  cases.  The  seasons  are  dry  and 
onl}'  the  glacial  drip  of  the  hills  can  be  depended  upon. 

A  method  lately  adopted  on  the.se  creeks  by  which  mining  can 
be  done  in  winter  has  proved  profitable  besides  doing  away  with 
the  long  period  of  idleness.  This  is  called  burning,  and  is  done  by 
drifting,  melting  away  the  fro.st  by  fire  and  taking  oiit  only  the 
pay  dirt,  leaving  the  glacial  drift  and  surface  intact.  The  i>ay 
dirt  thus  removed  is  easily  washed  in  the  spring  when  water  is 
plenty. 


Hi 


w- 


BED-ROCK  CREEK. 


This  creek  is  about  three  miles  distant  from  Miller  creek  to  t"he 
west  and  runs  nearly  parallel  with  it.  Although  it  has  been  pros- 
pected to  some  extent,  and  .some  claims  have  been  located,  it  has 
not  proved  very  satisfactory  ;  yet  it  may  contain  gold  in  paying 
quantities.  The  creek,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  not  overlaid  with 
the  usual  amount  of  glacial  drift  and  therefore  would  be  much 
more  easily  worked.  It  is  much  better  timbered  than  the  sur- 
rounding creeks  and  carries  a  greyer  volume  of  water,  being  fed 


GUIDK  TO   THK   YUKON 


41 


^'  i 


,'cr 
to 
of 

a 

bss- 
[iii- 
ros- 
Mal 
lied 
hie 


In-  numerous  springs  amoiijr  which  are  several  fine  soda  and  other 
mineral  springs.  This  creek  seems  to  differ  in  many  respects 
from  any  of  the  others  and  the  geologist  might  find  many  sur- 
prises in  its  exceedingly  interesting  and  \v(mderful  formation. 

HAU)  HILLS. 


From  the  .summit  of  the  Bald  hills  at  the  head  of  the.se  creeks 
is  one  of  the  grandest  scenes  on  this  continent.  Scores  of  spark- 
ling streams,  like  threads  of  silver,  stretch  away  toward  every 
point  of  the  compa.ss.  To  the  west  high  mountains  tint  the  hori- 
zon with  blue;  while  to  the  north  and  east,  beyond  the  mighty 
Yukon,  a  spur  of  the  Rocky  mountains  can  be  traced  for  more 
than  a  hundred  miles,  its  snow-capped  peaks  piercing  the  clouds. 
To  the  northwest  the  high  cut  banks  of  Forty  Mile  creek  can  be 
seen,  while  beyond,  the  old  standard  land  mark,  who.se  dome  can 
never  be  mistaken,  no  matter  from  what  point  of  view  it  is  seen, 
looms  up  grandly. 


I 


»■ 


FORTY  MILK  POST. 


Forty  Mile  Post  is  .situated  on  the  point  of  land  formed  by 
Forty  Mile  creek  and  the  Yukon.  This  point  at  times  of  high 
water  is  converted  into  an  i.sland.  .some  portions  of  which  are  oc- 
casionally submerged.  Beyond  tlii  and  bordering  the  hills  is  a 
fine  table-land,  extensive  enougli  make  a  fine  townsite.  The 
officers  of  the  Canadian  governmei  "  have  made  sufficient  reserves 
here  for  custom  buildings  and  polic  headquarters.  This  tract,  I 
believe,  is  under  the  immediate  direction  of  Captain  C.  Con.stan- 
tine. 

The  town  at  present  consists  of  tci  saloons,  McQuestion  &  Co's 
store,  two  black.smith  shops,  two  restaurants,  three  l>illiard  halls, 
two  dance  houses,  opera  house,  cigar  factor}-,  barber  shop,  two 
bakeries  and  several  breweries  and  distilleries.  The  town  has  a 
recorder  and  the  sum  of  five  dollars  is  charged  for  the  filing  and 
staking  of  lots.  In  order  to  hold  a  lot  the  owner  must  erect  a 
building  within  a  certain  time;  if  it  is  to  be  a  cabin,  it  must  be 
built  within  six  months  after  location. 


'i 


OUIDIC   TO   THlv    YUKON 


The  l)uil(litij;s  arc  all  made  of  lo^^  chinked  with  moss;  the 
roofs  are  of  poles  covered  with  a  layer  of  moss  with  a  foot  ol 
dirt  over  all. 

Living  is  reasonable,  two  dollars  a  day  heinj;  charj^ed  for  hoard 
hy  the  two  restaurants  while  cabins  can  be  rented  for  from  thirty 
to  thirtv-five  dollars  for  the  winter  season. 


- 

1 

1 ' 

;11 

I'^li 


DOGS. 


One  of  the  first  things  to  attract  attention  here,  as  well  as 
throughout  the  entire  Yukon  basin,  is  the  great  number  of  dogs. 
They  are  closely  related  to  the  wolf,  and  if  they  are  not  natural 
bona  thieves  they  are  nothing.  They  usually  celebrate  the  arri- 
val of  all  new  comers  by  a  general  fight.  They  will  steal  any- 
thing from  a  pair  of  boots  to  a  side  of  bacon  ;  one  actually  stole 
a  paste  pot  from  me  while  I  was  at  work  on  some  pictures.  They 
manifest  a  great  degree  of  cunning  in  their  attempts  at  stealing. 


lie 
of 

rd 
ty 


l\'„ 


ui 


i  i> ; 


L- 


GUIDE   TO  THE   YUKON 


43 


Snowslioes.  clog  harness  and  the  like,  as  well  as  all  kinds  of  un- 
canned  meats  have  to  be  cached.  This  is  done  by  erecting  a 
strong  house  upon  posts,  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  above  ground,  for 
the  safe  keeping  of  all  such  articles.  As  previously  stated,  these 
dogs  are  used  in  freighting  to  the  mines  in  winter.  An  addi- 
tional charge  of  two  cents  a  pound  is  made  on  bacon  and  all  un- 
canned  meats  on  account  of  the  extra  trouble  to  keep  that  class 
of  goods  from  the  dogs.  The  howling  of  wolves  would  be  pleas- 
ant music  compared  with  the  howling  of  these  dogs  at  night. 
Under  the  least  provocation,  in  the  calm  of  night,  one  will  start 
in  and  almost  sinuiltaneously  everj'  dog  within  five  miles  will  join 
in  a  general  uproar.  They  often  continue  their  bowlings  for 
hours.  In  spite  of  all  these  inconveniences  the  dog  is  to  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Yukon,  what  the  reindeer  is  to  the  Laplander, 
the  horse  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  plains.  In  winter  they  are 
hitched  to  a  sleigh  and  in  summer  loaded  with  packs.  When  the 
daj'  comes  for  theni  to  be  replaced  by  the  reindeer  that  roam  Bald 
hills  in  bands  of  thousands,  all  will  rejoice,  for  the  dogs  are  al- 
ways partially  loaded  with  their  own  food,  and  in  cases  of  distress 
furnish  poor  food  even  for  a  famished  miner.  The  flesh  of  the 
reindeer  is  a  delicacy  and  they  are  able  to  subsist  in  all  parts  of 
the  country. 


1 


FORT  CAUDHY 


Just  below  where  Forty  Mile  creek  unites  with  the  Yukon,  on  a 
beautiful  wooded  shelf,  high  above  the  river,  protected  from  the 
north  and  west  winds  by  high  hills,  rests  Fort  Caudhy.  This 
town  was  founded  by  Captain  Healey  and  is  the  head([uarters  of 
the  North  American  Transportation  and  Trading  Company,  bet- 
ter known  here  as  Capt.  Healey's  Company.  While  this  company 
is  a  new-comer,  having  been  there  only  three  years,  yet  in  that 
time  the  opposition  started  by  it  has  reduced  the  price  of  living 
about  one-half.  This  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  devel- 
opment of  the  country  and  makes  it  possible  to  work  diggings  that 
were  previously  abandoned.  They  have  erected  large  warehouses, 
a  saw-mill,  free  reading  room,  billiard  hall  and  many  fine  cabins. 
Their  boat,  the  P.  B.  Weare,  is  a  modern  river  boat  and  is  able  to 
carry  a  cargo  of  350  tons. 


J 


44 


GUIDE   TO   THK   YUKON 


COAL  CRlvHK. 


i 


I 


The  river  below  Fort}'  Mile  creek  is  bordered  on  both  sides  by 
abrupt  hills  with  no  valleys  whatever,  the  islands  becoming  less 
numerous.  Coal  creek  enters  from  the  east  about  seven  miles  be- 
low the  mouth  of  Forty  Mile  creek.  It  is  quite  rapid  and  navi- 
gable for  a  few  miles  only.  The  formation  is  limestone  with  fre- 
quent croppings  of  coal.  ICxtensive  leads  of  coal  are  reported 
to  exist  some  distance  from  the  river.  The  coal  of  this  country, 
as  f[ir  as  known,  is  lignite  in  character  and  seems  of  recent  for- 
mation. In  fact  many  parts  of  the  country  appear  to  be  under- 
going the  later  processes  of  the  carboniferous  period.  Coal  creek 
cuts  its  way  back  to  a  high  range  of  mountains,  evidently  a  spur 
of  the  Rocky  mountains.  The  river  does  not  cut  this  range  but 
flows  around  v.hat  appears  to  be  the  terminus.  The  country 
south  and  east  of  the  range  is  well  timbered  but  nothing  further 
is  known  of  it.  From  the  mouth  of  Coal  creek  on  to  the  Yukcm 
flats  the  characteristics  of  the  river  remain  about  th^  same.  The 
current  is  .strong,  the  hills  abrupt  and  the  formation  sand  and 
limestone  with  conglomerates  and  shales.  Crystalline  gneiss  and 
granite  veins  are  not  unconunon. 


CIRCLK  CITY. 


'\4 


About  170  miles  from  Forty  Mile  creek,  on  the  west  bank,  an 
elevated  table-land  borders  the  river.  This  is  just  within  the 
Yukon  flats.  Here  the  new  camp  of  Circle  City  was  founded  in 
the  fiill  of  1S94.  It  is  the  distributing  point  for  the  vast  region 
of  Birch  creek  and  will  undoubtedly  become  the  metropolis  of  the 
Yukon,  not  only  on  account  of  the  extensive  auriferous  deposits 
known  to  exist  there,  but  principally  liecau.se  it  is  on  American 
soil.  More  than  one  hundred  men  have  prospected  the  creek  and 
the  bars  adjacent  to  Hirch  creek,  and  all  agree  that  it  bids  fair  to 
rival  the  now  famous  Forty  Mile  creek.  On  the  opposite  page  is  a 
view  taken  of  the  first  supplies  landed  at  that  point,  September  5, 
1.S94.  Two  buildings  for  stores  were  soon  under  construction  and 
it  is  probable  that  300  men  passed  the  jiresent  winter  there.  The 
town  is  laid  off"  into  streets,  main  street  facing  the  river.     It  has 


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GUIDE    TO  THE  YUKON 


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a  recorder,  who  charges  a  fee  of  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  for  re- 
cording locations  of  lots.  A  building  clause  has  to  be  carried 
out  in  order  to  hold  the  lots. 

A  portage  of  six  miles  westward  from  Circle  City  strikes  liirch 
creek  200  miles  from  its  mouth,  from  which  point  the  river  is  fol- 
lowed by  boat  to  Crooked  river,  thence  up  to  the  mines  on  Inde- 
pendence, Mastodon  and  other  creeks.  A  shorter  way  is  by  port- 
age across  the  flats  and  over  a  range  of  high  hills  to  the  heads  of 
the  mining  creeks.  The  distance  by  trail,  as  shown  on  the  map 
by  the  dotted  lines,  is  about  fifty-two  miles. 

BIRCH  CREEK. 


Birch  creek  was  prospected  some  in  1893,  enough  to  show  that 
the  country  contained  some  gold,  the  first  being  discovered  on 
Malamute  creek  of  the  north  fork.  lyater  gold  was  found  on  other 
creeks  by  a  half-breed  Indian.  McCarthy  bar  on  the  main  creek 
also  proved  quite  rich.  Some  miners  followed  the  creek  for  350 
miles  and  reported  the  main  creek  to  be  filled  with  rapids  and  can- 
yons for  that  distance.  Much  of  the  creek  cuts  the  Yukon  flats 
and  other  low  .sections  of  the  country,  which  would  necessarily 
give  it  a  milder  current  than  most  of  the  streams  rnnning  into  the 
Yukon.  The  south  fork  runs  southwest  and  drains  that  country 
lying  near  the  head  of  Seventy  Mile  creek.  The  north  fork  drains 
much  country  in  and  adjacent  to  the  Ratzel  mountains. 

In  the  season  of  1894  nearly  one  hundred  men  prospected  this 
country  and  as  many  claims  were  staked  off"  on  Mastodon,  Inde- 
pendence and  other  creeks.  Bed-rock  here  is  much  nearer  the  sur- 
face than  in  the  Forty  Mile  creek  district,  and  the  above  named 
creeks  have  a  better  grade  ;  therefore  many  claims  were  well 
opened  up  and  some  even  yielded  good  returns.  I^ater  manj'  men 
went  there  from  the  Forty  Mile  mines.  This  year  will  find  many 
prospectors  in  this  locality  and  undoubtedly  very  rich  and  exten- 
sive creeks  will  be  located.  Circle  City,  the  distributing  point  for 
the.se  mines,  has  a  much  better  site  than  Forty  Mile  Post,  and 
being  nearer  the  mouth  of  the  river,  receives  supplies  first.  The 
greatest  drawback  to  the  development  of  these  mines  will  be  the 
lack  of  supplies.  The  miners  depend  on  the  snow  and  ice  for 
freighting  their  summer  supplies  to  the  mines.     As  there  is 


m  GUIDK   TO  THK   YUKON 

scarcely  supjilics  enough  in  the  country  to  carry  the  number  win- 
tering there  thr<)U>;h,  it  will  be  inipossil)le  to  obtain  any  to  freij;ht 
to  the  mines,  nor  can  prosjiectors  obtain  sui)plies  for  a  summer's 
prospecting  trip  until  the  first  boats  arrive,  which  will  be  well  into 
the  sunnner,  too  late  to  start  on  an  extensive  trip.  This  will  oc- 
cur again  next  year,  iniless  the  conii)any  more  than  (loul)les  the 
amount  of  supplies  for  that  year,  as  in  all  i)robability  more  than 
double  the  number  of  men  will  winter  there. 


TRICACHKR  CRlvKK. 


% 


ft'i 


I. 


Preacher  creek  enters  Birch  .some  sixty  miles  below  the  por- 
tage and  is  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  in  length. 
It  has  been  prospected  very  little  but  its  head  waters  are  said  to 
cut  a  country  of  very  jieculiar  formation.  Two  men  who  pros- 
pected there  last  year  found  little  gold  but  nuich  else  of  interest. 
They  expect  to  make  a  second  trip  the  coming  year. 

The  creek  was  nann  d  after  a  preacher  who  made  an  explora- 
tion trip  of  some  lengui  in  search  of  fossils.  It  is  reported  he 
found  high  clay  banks  some  seventy  miles  from  its  mouth.  These 
banks  were  about  three  hundred  feet  high  and  overlaid  a  layer  of 
driftwood  some  two  hundred  feet  down.  Much  of  this  driftwood 
was  well  preserved  and  of  much  larger  dimensions  than  any 
growth  in  the  country  at  present,  some  of  the  trees  being  fully 
four  feet  in  diameter.  The  creek  is  constantly  undermining  its 
banks,  thus  bringing  down  great  slides  of  clay  and  wood  which 
completely  fill  the  creek  at  times.  This  goes  to  prove  beyond  a 
doubt  that  the  great  Yukon  flats  were  at  one  time  a  vast  lake, 
much  larger  than  any  fresh  water  lake  existing  to-day. 


)  ; 


?i-!-'  ' 


YUKON  FLATS. 


The  Yukon  flats  are  traversed  by  the  river  from  Circle  City 
to  the  Lower  Ramparts,  a  distance  of  four  hundred  miles.  Their 
width  equals  their  length.  This  tract  includes  the  mouth  of  the 
Porcupine,  Birch  and  several  smaller  creeks*  At  the  point  the 
river  leaves  these  flats  it  cuts  its  way  through  a  low  range  of 
mountains  called  the  Rampart  mountains.     It  then  turns  to  the 


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GUIDE  To   TIIH   YUKON 


47 


west  atid  follows  the  ratijje  some  thrtr  hundred  miles  farther. 
This  raii^e  of  iiKmntains  was  uiidoiihtedly  the  harrier  that  formed 
the  ^reat  lake  of  the  past.  This  lake  must  have  been  larger  than 
Great  vSlave  lake  and  (luite  as  deep.  There  must  have  been  a  fall 
mightier  than  Niagara  at  its  outlet  before  the  great  barrier  was 
worn  or  broken  away.  All  this  time  the  mighty  Yukon  and  the 
Porcupine  were  depositing  the  wash  from  hundreds  of  .streams 
and  numntains,  forming  the  Hits  of  to-day.  Now  this  silt  is  car- 
ried down  the  river  and  deposited  at  its  mouth  forming  the  delta 
of  the  Yukon.  Some  idea  of  the  enormous  amount  of  sediment 
annually  deposited  may  be  had  by  noting  what  takes  place  along 
the  banks  of  the  main  river  and  luunerous  tributaries,  upon  the 
breaking  up  of  the  ice  in  the  spring.  Often  cakes  of  .solid  ice 
eight  feet  thick  and  acres  in  area  come  tearing  down  the  river, 
cutting  and  plowing  the  banks  until  they  become  .so  undermined 
that  they  .scarcely  sustain  their  own  weight.  Larger  fields  of  ice 
follow,  borne  madly  along  by  the  irresistible  current,  and  strike  the 
overhanging  mass  of  earth.  With  a  roar  like  an  avalanche  the 
high  bank  gives  way  and  is  precipitated  upon  the  field  of  ice  be- 
low, nearly  sinking  it.  Slowly  rising,  it  throws  off  most  of  its 
weight  of  rocks,  gravel  and  earth.  The  rocks  and  gravel  sink 
but  the  finer  particles  are  kept  moving  along  by  this  rapnl  cur- 
rent. A  pail  of  this  water  allowed  to  stand  over  night  will  con- 
tain a  half-inch  of  .sediment  in  the  moniing.  This  .same  current 
bears  these  ice-floes  onward  to  be  deposited  upon  some  sand  bar 
near  the  river's  mouth,  or  to  be  carried  far  out  into  Behring  sea. 
Nearly  every  cake  gathers  a  load  on  its  long  journey  down,  .some 
carrying  rocks,  others  trees,  sand  or  clay,  all  helping  to  transform 
and  build  up  in  a  maimer  unsurpa.s.sed  by  any  other  river  in  the 
world.  Only  such  rivers  as  rise  in  the  south  and  flow  northward, 
carry  such  fields  of  ice  in  the  breaking  up;  the  Yukon's  only 
northern  competitors  are  the  Mackenzie  and  Lena  of  Siberia. 

FOSSILS. 


■ifii 


I 


i    i: 


After  the  waters  of  this  great  lake  subsided,  it  became  the  home 
of  the  ina.stodon  which  it  is  believed  roamed  this  vast  northern 
waste  in  countless  numbers  and  of  a  size  beyond  any  living  thing 
of  the  present  age.     Tusks  of  fossil  ivory  are  numerous  through- 


48 


GUIDE    TO    THE    YUKON 


il«'t 


-L- 


-.4     ■ 


•'I 

I'    \i 


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\ 


i 


I'!  -t 


out  these  northern  regions  besides  bones  and  teeth  of  a  marvelous 
size.  An  island  known  as  Mannnoth  island  seems  to  have  been 
a  burying  place  for  one  of  these  herds,  remains  being  piled  up  in 
great  profusion.  The  habitat  of  these  animals  seemed  to  range 
to  the  westward  into  the  Copper  river  district  and  remains  are 
found  througl-.out  the  Birch  creek  district  and  even  in  the  Ratzel 
mountains.  Nearly  the  whole  basin  furnishes  some  fo.ssils,  but 
the  flats  and  country  adjacent  contain  the  greatest  abundance. 
Many  beh<."e  the  unexplored  country  toward  the  head  of  Copper 
river  contains  living  specimens.  Many  tales  are  told  by  Indians 
from  that  region  of  huge  woolly  beasts  with  horns  like  the  trunk 
of  the  birch  tree.  They  say  that  in  winter  pufls  of  steam  i.ssue 
from  their  nostrils  like  thai  from  a  steamboat.  The  stories  of 
their  size  are  interesting  even  to  one  ac([uainted  with  the  Mi.ssion 
Indians.  Hadlam  in  his  Wonders  of  Alaska  tells  of  tu.sks  bought 
by  the  Alaska  Trading  Company  with  flesh  and  blood  still  ad- 
hearing  to  them.  He  has  also  heard  of  a  huge  bear  that  in- 
habits the  higher  mountfiins  of  the  Yukon  country  whose  legs  are 
longer  on  one  side  than  on  the  other,  thus  facilitating  his  lonely 
meanderings  on  the  sides  of  the  cloud-.swept  peaks.  I  have  no 
doubt  if  Badlam  had  met  one  of  tho.se  favored  freaks  of  nature  he 
would  have  learned  a  great  deal  more  about  them,  for  it  would 
seem  that  an  animal  thus  constructed  would  experience  great  diffi- 
culty in  turning  and  making  off  in  the  opposite  direction,  unless 
the  same  jiroviilence  had  constructed  it  like  a  double  ender,  with 
.search-lights  at  either  end. 

LOWIvR  RAMPARTS. 


The  Rampart  mountains  are  followed  by  the  river  mat-  .•  miles 
after  leaving  the  flats,  and  no  streams  ot  an\  note  enter  initil  the 
Tanana  river  is  reached.  This  river  is  probably  six  or  seven 
hundred  miles  long  v.jth  many  tributaries.  It  drains  that  country 
lying  between  the  Copper  river  and  the  Yukon  as  far  south  as  the 
White  river.  This  river  is  little  known  and  the  Indians  there  are 
reported  hostile.  The  country  about  the  head  waters  will  un- 
doubtedly prove  one  of  tin-  richest  gold  fields  of  the  whole  country 
and  prospectors  will  probably  push  their  way  there  within  the 
next  two  years. 


fit   ■} 


GUIDE    TO    THE    YUKON 


49 


NUKLUKVETO. 


Nuklukyeto  is  situated  on  the  north  bank  just  below  the  mouth 
of  the  To/.ikakat  river.  The  Alaska  Commercial  Company  has  a 
post  here,  run  by  Al.  Meyhue  who  has  been  in  the  country  for 
more  than  thirty  years.  The  trade  here  is  almost  entirely  with 
the  Indians,  many  of  the  Tanana  Indians  coming  all  the  way 
from  the  head  waters  of  the  Tanana  in  summer  to  trade. 


KOYUKUK  RIVER. 


This  river  enters  from  the  north  and  is  the  first  large  river  after 
leaving  the  Tanana,  It  enters  the  Yukon  about  five  hundred 
miles  below  that  river  and  is  navigable  for  many  miles.  It  is 
quite  as  large  as  the  Tanana  but  has  a  much  milder  current.  The 
Alaska  Commercial  Company  has  a  smnll  steamer  that  supplies 
their  po.sts  on  this  river  as  well  as  the  missions.  Gold  has  been 
found  on  this  river  in  paying  quantities.  Nulato,  a  trading  post 
of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  is  situated  on  the  same  side 
of  the  river  some  distance  below.  From  here  on  the  river  is  much 
wider,  yet  losing  little  of  its  force  of  current.  The  country  pre- 
.sents  a  sameness  on  this  lower  river  that  becomes  monotonous  even 
on  the  down  trip,  with  the  boat  making  as  high  as  twenty-two 
miles  an  hour.  It  nuist  seem  much  more  monotonous  on  the  up 
trip  on  account  of  the  slow  jnogress  of  the  boat. 


m 


LOWI'R  RIVICR  NATIVES. 


Indians  ot  an  inferior  class  bi-i<onic  inort  numerous  as  the  mouth 
is  approached.  Their  fishing  cami)s  are  passed  at  a  most  every 
turn  of  the  river  and  they  hive  fish-'rai)S  at  every  eddy  and  pro- 
tected place.  A  large  mimber  died  last  winter  owing  to  the  .severe 
cold,  AchkIs  and  lack  of  f«H)d.  Their  food  consist^  almost  entirely 
of  fish,  and  the  only  clothing  worn  l\v  many  is  made  from  jire- 
pared  salmon  skins.  iVjols  and  gloves  are  also  made  from  -.Imon 
skins.     These  'ndians  iffe  la/v  and  it  is  with  ditliculty  th;i    they 


60 


GUIDK  TO  THE  YUKON 


1  I 


can  be  induced  to  cut  wood  for  the  steamers.  There  are  verj'  few 
fur-bearing  animals  in  this  section  of  the  country,  hence  wood  is 
about  the  only  means  of  barter  they  have.  It  is  very  abundant 
;dong  the  banks  of  the  ri\er. 

The  Innoko  and  Anvik  rivers  are  the  oidy  other  streams  of 
any  importance  that  enter  the  Yukon  from  here  on.  After  pass- 
ing those  rivers  the  current  becomes  much  milder  and  the  river 
wider.  Islands  are  passed  near  the  mouth,  some  of  which  have  a 
total  length  of  one  hundred  miles.  The  flats  and  sand  bars  make 
feeding  atid  hatching  ground  for  thousands  of  wild  geese.  The 
mouth  of  the  river  sj)reads  out  to  a  great  width  and  its  numerous 
channels  are  filled  with  sand  bars.  Probably  hundreds  of  miles 
of  this  low  land  has  beeti  filled  in  with  the  silt  brought  down  by 
the  swift  current  of  this  mighty  volume  of  water.  Bering  sea  for 
miles  is  shoaled  to  such  an  extent  that  vessels  drawing  more  than 
a  few  feet  of  water  have  to  land  their  cargos  at  St.  Michael's  is- 
land, about  sixty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  the  river 
boats  are  compelled  to  make  this  stretch  of  open  water. 


SAINT  MICHAICL'S  ISLAND. 


1 1"   i' 
k    3 


;    ■ 


Hl-l 


Here  the  trading  companies  of  the  Yukon  district  have  their 
principal  warehouses.  The  Alaska  Commercial  Company  has 
been  established  here  for  years  and  has  fine  painted  buildings 
presenting  a  pleasing  appearance.  A  new  company,  The  North 
American  Trading  and  Transportation  Company,  is  also  building 
fine  large  warehouses  and  as  it  is  a  wideawake,  progre:,.-iive  com- 
pany, it  will  undoubtedly  have  as  fine  buildings  as  the  other  has. 
Tliey  both  carry  a  large  stock  of  goods  through  the  winter  and 
many  men  could  find  comlbrtable  (juarters  here,  if  by  accident 
sup])lies  run  short  up  the  river,  which  is  liable  to  be  the  case  if 
a  very  great  number  of  men  go  into  the  mines  this  .spring. 

The  ice  does  not  leave  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  about  vSaint 
Michael's  until  the  first  of  June.  vShijJS  loaded  for  this  island  sel- 
dom find  it  convenient  to  land  their  cargo  before  June  20.  This 
makes  the  running  season  for  the  river  boats  little  more  than  three 
months.  In  that  time  they  can  usually  make  three  trips  to  Forty 
Mile  Po.st.  extending  one  trip  up  as  far  as  the^Pelly,  if  no  accident 
happens  to  delay  them.     Accidents  are  always  possible  owing  to 


H 


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H 


GUIDK  TO  TIIR   YUKON 


51 


the  constant  changing  of  the  sand  bars.  To  run  a  boat  upon  one 
of  those  bars  means  much  delay  especially  if  it  occurs  on  the  down 
trip.  These  river  boats  will  cotniect  at  Saint  Michael's  with 
steamers  running  to  vSeattle  and  San  Francisco.  A  time-card  can 
be  found  on  another  page,  giving  the  necessary  information  con- 
cerning the  time  of  leaving  points  along  the  route.  These  boats 
connect  with  the  mail  boat  for  vSitka  and  way  points.  The  trip 
along  the  coast  is  one  of  great  interest.  Many  noted  points  are 
passed  and  active  volcanoes  seen.  Wild  fowl,  fur  seal,  walrus 
and  whale  can  be  .seen  from  the  .ship's  deck  almost  any  day.  The 
curio  seeker  can  reap  a  rich  harvest,  for  few  who  visit  this  country 
have  time  or  inclination  to  indulge  in  the  collection  of  specimens. 
The  Indians  about  Saint  Michael's  are  very  ingenious  and  indus- 
trious. A  collection  there  would  consist  chiefly  of  ivory  fashioned 
into  everything  from  a  symbolic  representation  of  the  history  of 
the  family  to  an  expected  addition. 


flRII 


NAVIGATION  ON  TIIIC  YUKON. 


The  navigable  wateis  of  the  Yukon  and  its  tributaries  are  al- 
most unlimited.  The  Lewis  can  undcnibtedly  be  ascended  to  the 
foot  of  White  Horse  in  a  suitable  l)oat,  while  the  lakes  above 
would  furnish  hundreds  of  miles  of  navigable  waters.  The  Pelly 
could  also  be  a.scended  a  good  distance,  while  many  of  its  branches 
are  also  navigable.  The  Stewart,  Tahkeena,  Hootalinciua  and  its 
lake  connections,  would  make  fine  water  ways;  while  the  Porcu- 
pine, Tanana.  Koyukuk,  Anvik  and  White  rivers,  Birch  creek, 
Salmon  river  and  many  others,  to  the  extent  of  many  thousand 
miles  will  in  time  be  navigated  by  steamers.  At  present  there 
are  two  large  boats  running  from  St.  Michaels  to  Pell>-  river.  One, 
the  Arctic,  owned  by  the  Alaska  Connnercial  Company,  is  used  to 
supply  their  stations  at  Forty  Mile  Post.  Sixty  Mile  and  Pelly 
rivers.  This  c  inpany  has  done  a  trading  business  for  many 
years  and  has  large  warehouses  at  St.  Michael's,  sixty  miles  from 
the  month  of  the  river.  They  also  nm  sever.-l  sm.dler  boats  to 
their  stations  along  the  lower  river  and  will  i.  Niubtedly  add  a 
new  and  larger  boat  to  their  tVet  in  the  sjiring.  The  /'  /i.  U'carc, 
I  am  informed,  is  the  lari:e>.l  U)at  n.ivigating  these  waters  at  pres- 
ent.     It  is  owned  by  the  North  .\merican  Trailing  and  Transpor- 


52 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


I 


IV"  , 


tation  Company  and  is  used  to  supply  their  stations  along  the 
river.  It  is  a  large,  modern  river  boat  with  large  double  boilers 
and  consumes  about  t\venty-fi\e  cords  of  wood  per  day.     The  two 

companies  will  double  the  amount  of  supplies  this  year  and  will 
undoubtedly  be  able  to  supply  all  who  visit  the  mines  the  coming 
season.  Connections  will  be  made  at  St.  Michaels  with. boats  for 
San  Francisco  and  Sound  points.  The  following  passenger  rates 
are  now  charged:  From  Forty  Mile  Post  to  St.  Michaels,  first- 
class,  $50.00,  second-class,  $30.00;  to  San  Franci.sco,  first-class, 
$175.00,  second-class,  $150.00.  The  North  American  Trading 
and  Transportation  Compuiy  will  run  passenger  steamers  from  San 
Francisco  and  Seattle.  The  boats  will  accommodate  about  one 
hundred  passengers.  TourLsts,  miners  and  others  wishing  to  go 
to  the  Yukon  country  without  the  hardships  accompanying  the 
trip  down  the  river  and  at  a  reasonable  price  will  patronize  the 
North  American  Trading  and  Transportation  Company's  boats. 


TAKU  ROUTE. 


li 


The  Canadian  govenunent  is  making  a  preliminary  'survey  of 
this  route  and  will  build  a  trail  within  the  year,  if  such  conces- 
sions as  are  necessary  can  ))e  had  from  our  government.  This 
trail  would  open  up  all  their  extensive  country  lying  beyond  the 
Coast  range  down  to  the  141st  meridian,  most  of  which  is  a  good 
grazing  country  as  well  as  being  rich  in  minerals.  This  route 
leads  up  the  Taku  Inlet  to  the  Coast  range,  thence. by  a  low 
pass  a  distance  of  about  eighty-five  miles  to  waters  running  into 
Lake  Teslin.  The  pass  is  said  to  be  timbered  the  entire  distance 
anc  u»  run  through  a  fine  grazing  country,  liy  striking  the  wa- 
ters of  Teslni  lake,  thence  across  this  lake  and  down  the  Hoota- 
linqua.  no  falls  are  encountered  olher  than  the  Five  Fingers 
which  offer  no  great  obstacles.  This  would  always  prove  an  easy 
route  but  would,  in  ca.se  of  a  trail  by  way  of  Chilkoot  or  White 
pa.ss,  l)c  u.sed  only  for  the  country  not  reached  by  those  trails,  the)' 
being  .so  much  shorter  than  the  Taku. 

vShould  GUV  gi)\crnnient  grant  such  concessions  as  theCv.nadian 
gi>vcrnnient  will  ask  for,  such  a  trail  would  prove  the  greatest 
detriment  to  cmr  interests  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Not  only  the 
wholesale  Iiouncs  on  the  Sound  but  tin  i>utfitting  establishments 


r 


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GUIDE   TO  THE  YUKON 


53 


of  Juneau  would  suffer  thereby.  Victoria  would  at  once  come 
into  prominence  and  Ivnglish  goods  would  take  the  place  of  Amer- 
ican goods.  Not  only  would  this  hold  true  in  their  own  territory, 
but  large  quantities  of  those  goods  would  find  their  way  across  the 
line  and  supply  miners  on  our  side  of  the  present  imaginary 
boundary.  When  the  boundary  is  definitely  established,  it  will 
be  difficult  to  enforce  custom  regulations.  If  our  govennnent  is 
not  willing  to  assist  in  the  development  of  Alaska,  it  should  .see 
to  it  that  what  has  been  accomplished  by  private  enterprise  shall 
not  be  injured  by  foreign  competition. 


WHITK  PASS. 


This  is  undoubtedly  the  best  pass,  all  things  cotisidered,  that 
cuts  the  Coast  range.  It  is  at  least  one  thousand  feet  lower  than 
the  Chilkoot  and  little  higher  ihan  the  Taku.  It  isrej^orted  tim- 
bered the  entire  length.  Its  salt  water  terminus  is  about  eighty- 
five  miles  north  of  Juneau  and  ocean  steamers  can  run  up  to  the 
landing  at  all  times,  where  there  is  a  good  tovvnsite,  well  protected 
from  storms.  The  pass  lies  through  a  box  canyon  surrounded  by 
high  granite  peaks  and  is  comparatively  easy.  The  first  seven 
miles  from  salt  water  lie  up  the  bottom  lands  of  the  Shkagway 
river  through  heavy  timber.  Then  for  about  .seven  miles  farther 
the  way  is  over  piles  of  boulders  and  moraines  which  would  prove 
the  most  expensive  part  of  the  trail.  This  trail  would  not  exceed 
thirty-two  miles  in  length  and  would  .strike  Windy  armof  Tagish 
lake  or  Taku  arm  coming  in  farther  up  the  lake.  All  of  this  part 
of  the  lake  is  well  timbered  and  accessible  to  Lake  Bennett  and  its 
connections.  White  pass  could  be  used  as  a  mail  route  ai  y  month 
in  the  vear. 


CHILKOOT  PASS. 


This  pass  is  the  shortest  of  all  the  passes  but  the  highest  by  at 
least  one  thou.sand  feet.  It  is  the  one  always  used  by  the  miners 
and  is  the  route  followed  in  the  pages  of  this  guide.  It  starts  at 
the  headof  Taiya  inlet  and  follows  the  lx>ttom  lands  of  the  Taiya 
river  for  some  eight  miles,  where  it  enters  the  canyon.  The  Sheep 


64 


GUIDK    TO    THE    YUKON    • 


4 


h    i 


camp  is  at  timber  line  and  from  there  the  scene  is  one  of  extreme 
desolation,  occupied  only  by  jj;laciers  and  mountain  sheep.  No 
vej^etation  of  any  kind  can  be  seen  for  miles  around  the  summit. 
Healey  &:  Wilson  have  a  trading  post  and  outfitting  establishment 
at  Taiya.  They  will  give  all  necessary  assistance  in  securing 
packers  over  this  trail.  The  total  length  of  this  trail  from  Wil- 
son's to  Lake  Lindeman  is  abput  twenty-four  miles,  although  a 
second  short  portage  at  the  foot  of  Lindeman  will  have  to  be 
made.  If  this  trail  should  ever  become  the  improved  route,  this 
piece  of  river  could  be  made  navigable  for  lighters. 


CHILKAT  PASS. 


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The  Chilkat  trail  leads  over  the  Chilkat  pass  and  is  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  in  length  from  the  head  of  Chilkat 
inlet  to  where  it  strikes  the  waters  of  Tahkeena  river.  This  was 
the  old  trail  used  by  the  Indians  to  and  from  the  interior  and  leads 
all  the  way  through  to  Old  Fort  Selkirk  by  land.  Jack  Daulton 
has  used  this  trail  at  times  in  taking  horses  to  the  interior,  port- 
aging to  the  Tahkeena,  then  by  raft  down  that  river  to  the  lycwis, 
thus  proving  that  the  Tahkeena  is  navigable  for  a  small  stern- 
wheel  steamer  for  a  distance  of  some  seventy  miles. 


POSSIBLE    RAILROAD   ROUTE. 


As  the  mines  of  the  Yukon  are  developed  and  the  basin  becomes 
populated  with  the  large  number  that  must  necessarily  follow 
within  a  few  years,  means  of  quicker  mail  and  transportation  facil- 
ities will  be  needed.  When  the  Siberian  &  Arctic  railroad  shall 
become  a  reality  trains  could  leave  Chicago  by  way  of  Winnipeg 
and  reach  the  Yukon  basin  in  three  days'  run;  thence  on  to  Behr- 
ings  straits,  which  could  easily  be  tunnelled.  Four  days  out  from 
Chicago  would  land  one  on  Siberian  soil.  This  would  open  up 
the  greatest  commercial  route  the  world  has  ever  known.  Three 
thousand  miles  of  this  route  are  ^already  built  and  operated  by  the 
Russian  government,  and  with  the  more  liberal  views  of  that 
govennnent,  which  seem  to  be  assured  in  the  near  future,  and  the 


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constant  concentration  of  capital  which  is  seekin>(  Krcat  entcr- 
])rise.s,  a  popiUated  country  through  which  to  run,  and  the  com- 
paratively few  obstacles  in  the  construction  of  such  a  road,  all 
go  to  assure  its  success.  At  no  far  distant  day  this  railroad 
could  run  parallel  with  the  Rocky  mountains  and  follow  the  high 
table-land  all  the  way  to  the  Yukon  without  encountering  any 
obstacles  whatever  in  an  cJigineerijig  sense,  and  the  wliole  dis- 
tance to  the  straits  would  prove  no  more  difficult  than  building  a 
road  across  our  plain-country.  This  route  would  soon  become 
the  tourist  route  to  all  Europe.  No  longer  would  the  dangers  of 
the  sea  and  the  ever-dreaded  seasickness  be  considered  in  a  con- 
templated trip  abroad. 


RHSOURCEvS.— coppKR. 


Copper  will  undoubtedly  prove  in  the  near  future  one  of  this 
country's  greatest  resources.  Ever  since  Alaska  was  discovered 
the  Indians  have  shown  much  native  copper,  and  mountains  of 
this  ore  are  said  to  exi.st  in  the  Copper  river  region.  This  region 
is  so  little  known,  however,  that  much  time  must  elapse  before  it 
will  l)econie  accessible.  The  deposits  on  the  Yukon  and  its  tribu- 
taries must  soon  draw  capital  in  their  direction. 

IRON  AND  COAL. 

Vast  beds  of  iron  and  coal  are  known  to  exist  in  many  parts  of 
Alaska.  Especially  is  this  true  ot  the  Yukon,  and  when  the 
various  modes  of  travel  shall  demand  cheap  fuel,  then  another  of 
the  Yukon's  resources  will  come  to  the  front. 

PLATINUM. 

Platinum  is  found  in  nearly  all  the  Yukon  country  in  associa- 
tion with  gold,  and  it  may  some  day  prove  a  rich  field  for  this 
metal. 


iM 


GAME — MOOSE. 


That  the  Yukon  basin  is  a  fine  game  country,  all  who  have  vis- 
ited it  admit.  The  upper  country  abounds  in  moose,  bear,  cari- 
bou and  much  smaller  game.     White  river  is  reported  by  the  In- 


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dians  to  be  a  great  moose  country,  the  moose  there  growing  to  a 
greater  size  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  American  continent. 
When  fat  its  flesh  is  alwa^  s  tender  and  palatable.  This  is  proba- 
bly due  to  the  rapid  growth  and  tenderness  of  all  vegetation.  In 
summer  some  of  the  moose  of  that  region  have  a  wonderful  spread 
of  horns  and  reach  a  weight  of  i ,  500  pounds.  It  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal sources  of  food  for  the  Indians  who  find  little  trouble  in  kill- 
ing them  at  all  .seasons  of  the  year.  The  moose,  owing  to  its 
great  size  and  strength,  can  procure  food  despite  the  deep  .snows 
and  severe  cold.  They  are  not  dainty,  and  will  eat  almost  any- 
thing, so  that  they  are  fat  even  in  early  spring.  The  skins  are 
coarse  and  brown  when  tanned,  and  are  u.sed  by  the  Indians  for 
gloves,  moccasins  and  clothing  and  even  for  their  lodges.  The 
moo.se,  unlike  other  ruminants,  is  a  fighter  and  the  femal,  sin- 
gle-handed, will  protect  her  young  from  a  whole  pack  of  wolves, 
and  the  bull  in  the  fall  is  an  ugly  customer  even  for  the  hunter 
to  tackle. 

CARIHOU. 

The  woodland  caribou  is  found  throughout  the  lake  and  upper 
river  country.  It  averages  nearly  twice  the  .size  of  the  barren 
land  caribou  or  reindeer  and  its  habits  are  al.so  quite  different. 
It  never  migrates  toward  the  north  in  summer,  but  travels  directly 
the  opposite  way.  The  caribou  here  have  great  powers  of  endur- 
ance and  can  trot  at  a  gait  equal  to  that  of  the  best  horse.  In 
deep  .snow  it  is  almost  useless  to  pur.sue  them,  their  wide  flat 
hoofs  and  the  manner  in  which  they  spread  them,  enabling  them 
to  keep  quite  on  top  of  the  snow.  They  are  much  more  strongly 
built  than  the  Ijarren  land  cariljou  and  the  horns  are  much  stronger 
and  rounder.  This  species  is  almost  untamable  and  shows  no  in- 
clination to  work  like  their  cousins  in  the  Bald  hills. 

BARREN  LAND  CARIBOU  OR  ARCTIC  REINDEER. 

This  animal,  altogether  different  from  the  woodland  caribou, 
occupies  the  Bald  hills  near  the  Arctic  circle  where  food  is  so 
scarce  that  it  i.')  constantly  on  the  move,  having  to  migrate  to  the 
south  in  winter.  In  the  .severest  winters  its  range  is  many  hun- 
dred miles  in  that  direction.  While  it  and  the  woodland  caribou 
were  originally  of  one  .species,  its  mode  of  living  differ«  so 
widely  from  its  cousin  that  its  habits  and  appearance  have 
changed  until  it  can  no  longer  be  considered  a  very  near  relative 


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GUIDE    TO    THE    YUKON 


67 


to  the  noble  monarch  of  the  woods,  that  leads  a  life  of  perfect 
idleness  and  plenty  in  the  rich  pine-clad  lands  to  the  south.  It 
is  not  to  be  wondered  that  with  their  decrease  in  size  their  man- 
ner and  temper  have  also  changed  and  that,  with  a  little  coaxing, 
they  readily  become  beasts  of  burden.  When  the  time  comes  for 
the  dogs  to  give  way  to  their  more  favored  successors  everybody 
in  this  great  country  will  rejoice.  The  past  five  winters  about 
Forty  Mile  creek  have  been  unusually  severe  and  great  herds 
have  ranged  further  south  than  usual.  It  is  estimated 
that  no  less  than  five  thousand  were  killed  last  year  in  this  vicin- 
ity. The  herds  are  reported  to  number  hundreds  of  thousands. 
Their  horns  which  are  counted  by  the  hundreds  on  the  Bald  hills, 
are  more  slender  and  have  a  much  greater  spread  than  the  wood- 
land caribou,  thus  causing  them  little  difficulty  in  ranging  the 
sparcely  wooded  country.  All  are  provided  with  the  snow  shovel 
reaching  quite  down  to  the  point  of  the  nose,  to  assist  them  in 
procuring  the  reindeer  moss  and  lichens  in  the  country  they  in- 
habit. This  is  undoubtedly  the  reason  why  the  female  as  well  as 
the  male  is  provided  with  antlers.  The  endurance  of  these  ani- 
mals, if  not  over  estimated,  is  wonderful  and  the  ease  with  which 
they  make  long  journeys  through  deep  snow  or  over  the  soggy 
moss  of  this  country  would  well  fit  them  for  the  sleigh  or  freighter. 

BEAR. 

There  are  many  species  of  bear  in  Alaska  and  probably  the  St. 
Elias  grizzly  attains  a  greater  size  than  any  other  bear  in  the 
world.  If  he  is  not  a  .xghter  he  is  surely  not  a  coward.  This 
bear  is  found  in  the  St.  Elias  Alps  and  many  of  the  ranges  of 
Alaska,  but  is  more  common  in  the  high  ranges  of  mountains 
east  of  the  Yukon  river,  below  Sixty  Mile  creek.  On  the  Clon- 
dike  river  they  are  so  numerous  as  to  prevent  the  Indians  from 
hunting  there  when  fish  are  plenty.  This  bear,  like  the  whole 
bear  family,  is  a  great  fish  eater.  It  is  during  the  fish  season 
only  that  this  bear  leaves  its  haunts  in  the  high  mountains  for 
the  lowlands.  It  likes  variety  and  is  more  of  a  meat  eater  than 
its  less  dignified  brother,  the  common  or  brown  bear.  Several 
men  who  have  come  in  contact  with  this  bear  remember  it  to  the 
extent  of  a  leg  or  arm  and  even  think  themselves  lucky  to  escape 
with  their  lives.  Some  of  the  skins  of  this  bear  are  enormous  in 
size  and  one  skull  I  examined  was  beyond  comparison  with  any- 
thing in  the  bear  line  I  have  ever  seen.      This  St.  Elias  grizzly 


ti 


58 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


I 

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when  young  looks  almost  white  at  a  distance.  It  stands  higher 
than  other  bear  and  is  wary  even  in  this  remote  region  beyond 
any  animal  I  have  ever  hunted.  On  the  other  hand  the  brown 
and  the  black  bear  of  this  region  are  easily  app^-oached  and  espe- 
cially when  nosing  along  the  banks  of  streams  searching  for  food. 
In  one  case  we  actually  run  our  boat  within  thirty  feet  of  one  on 
a  clear  morning  while  our  portable  stove  was  yet  burning  having 
cooked  breakfast  in  the  boat. 

MOUNTAIN  GOAT, 

This  animal,  while  probably  smaller  than  the  Rocky  mountain 
goat  further  south,  is  identical.  Its  weight  will  average  perhaps 
one  hundred  pounds  and  both  sexes  have  horns.  Its  home  is  on 
the  cloud  swept  peaks  surrounded  by  nature's  solitudes  and  it 
°"ems  most  content  in  its  gloomy  surroundings,  when  the  thun- 
derbolt goes  crashing  down  the  rugged  sides  of  the  canyon  or 
where  the  steeps  are  swept  by  the  mighty  avalanche.  Its  coat  is 
well  adapted  to  its  rugged  home.  Under  the  long  outer  hair  a 
fleecy  wool  protects  it  in  its  wonderful  leaps  from  rock  to  rock. 
Its  legs  are  straight  and  stiff  and  its  horns  are  black.  The  pelt 
makes  fine  robes  and  is  much  prized  by  the  Indians. 

MOUNTAIN  SHEEP. 

This  animal  is  found  throughout  Alaska,  being  more  numerous 
in  the  Coast  range  of  mountains  than  in  the  interior.  It  attains 
a  ranch  larger  size  than  the  goat,  and  a  ram  may  often  be  found 
weighing  three  hundred  pounds.  It  is  among  the  wariest  of  all 
hoofed  game  of  the  American  continent.  They  are  hardly  worth 
the  time  and  trouble  that  are  usually  consumed  in  securing  them. 
Its  coat  is  of  light  gray  color  and  some  hunters  claim  a  great  del- 
icacy for  its  flesh. 

LYNX. 

The  North  American  lynx  is  abundant  throughout  the  upper 
river  and  lake  country.  It  probably  attains  a  larger  size  there 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  continent.  It  is  easily  trapped  and 
any  rifle  kills  it  readily.  Although  large  and  strong  its  tenacity 
of  life  is  far  below  all  other  species  of  the  cat  family.  The  pelt  is 
finely  furred  and  makes  excellent  robes.  Its  principal  food  is  the 
rabbit  which  abounds  throughout  that  country.  Its  legs  and  feet 
are  large  and  powerful  and  well  covered  with  hair,   giving  it 


^,g„^iSi:,Sii^i. 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


59 


fher 
-'ond 
rown 
pspe- 
pod. 
|e  on 
ring 


rather  a  clumsy  appearance  which  is  turned  to  one  of  ludicrous- 
ness  when  frightened.  At  such  times  the  short,  stubbed  tail  stands 
erect,  the  back  is  arched,  and  with  whiskers  standing  straight  out 
it  makes  off  bj^  a  succession  of  spasmodic  jumps  in  a  way  that 
often  totally  disconcerts  even  the  old  hunter. 

WOLVES. 

Alaska,  like  all  of  North  America,  is  more  or  less  inhabited  by 
wolves.  The  gray  timber  wolf  of  average  size  is  found  there.  It 
is  so  wary  as  to  be  seldom  seen  by  man.  It  has  all  the  cunning 
of  the  fox  and  like  all  varieties  is  a  coward,  except  when  found 
in  great  numbers.  In  the  interior  they  are  numerous.  In  parts 
of  the  Coast  country  they  exist  in  such  numbers  that  no  deer  are 
found  on  the  main  land  along  the  whole  coast,  although  the  is- 
lands are  exceedingly  well  stocked  with  them. 

WOLVERINE. 

This  animal  is  probably  more  plentiful  throughout  the  upper 
river  and  lake  sections  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  Its 
peculiar  habits  and  singular  appearance  are  little  known  even  to 
most  naturalists.  I  cannot  recall  ever  having  seen  it  in  captivity. 
The  body  is  heavy  and  covered  with  long  hair  and  fur  much 
prized  by  the  Indians  as  trimming  for  their  winter  garments.  Its 
legs,  although  short,  do  not  prevent  it  from  making  long  jour- 
neys through  deep  snow.  As  there  is  scarcely  any  limit  to  its 
food  capacity,  it  is  continually  on  the  move,  yet  so  wary  and 
careful  that  it  is  seldom  seen. 

FISH. 

While  the  salmon  is  by  far  the  most  important  fish  of  the  Yu- 
kon there  are  many  varieties  of  fine  fish,  the  ever  cold  water 
keeping  their  flesh  hard  and  palatable  at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 
Probably  next  to  the  salmon  in  importance  comes  the  white  fish, 
of  which  there  are  several  varieties,  some  reaching  a  good  size. 
They  are  found  throughout  almost  the  entire  river  basin. 

Lake  trout  of  a  good  size  are  found  everywhere  in  the  lake 
country.  A  species  of  fish,  known  to  the  miners  as  lake  cod,  is 
also  found  in  the  lakes.  It  seems  to  be  a  cross  between  the  sal- 
mon and  white  fish,  having  characteristics  of  each.  It  is  of  good 
size  and  rises  readily  to  a  troll.  Throughout  the  summer  months 
landlocked  salmon,  similar  to  those  of  Maine  and  Canada,  abound 


60 


GUIDE  TO  THK   YUKON 


in  the  lakes.  Grayling  or  arctic  trout  is  found  in  the  rivers.  It 
rises  readily  to  a  fly,  the  small  black  being  the  best.  A  small 
piece  of  black  thread  fastened  around  the  hook  will  answer  the 
purpose.  The)'  fre{[uent  the  mouths  of  small  streams  and  falls 
and  are  found  in  great  numbers  about  the  canyons  and  White 
Horse  rapids.  Pike  are  numerous  about  the  lower  river,  while 
the  sucker  is  found  everywhere.  Miners  provided  with  gill  nets 
need  have  no  fear  of  starving.  Along  the  river  anywhere  in  the 
summer  and  fall  by  such  means  they  could  readily  lay  in  a  sup- 
p]j'  sufficient  to  last  throughout  the  winter. 


DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD  IN  THE  YUKON  BASIN. 


.,  ( 


There  seems  to  be  no  definite  authority  as  to  when  and  where 
gold  was  first  discovered  in  the  Yukon  basin.  No  two  miners 
agree  on  this  subject.  Gold  is  reported  to  have  been  found  by 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  men  early  in  the  sixties.  George 
Holt  is  credited  by  Dawson  as  probably  the  first  white  man  to 
cross  the  Coast  range  for  the  purpose  of  prospecting.  The  date 
of  Holt's  journey  is  given  as  1S78  and  whether  he  followed  the 
trail  over  the  Chilkoot  or  White  pass  is  not  certain.  He  de- 
scended the  lakes  to  Lake  Marsh  then  followed  the  Indian  trail  to 
the  Hootalinqua,  returning  by  the  same  route  in  the  fall.  The 
Coast  Pilot gxv^ii  the  date  of  Holt's  journey  as  1872  or  1874.  On 
his  return  he  reported  having  found  coarse  gold  near  or  on  the 
Hootalinqua  river  and  while  no  coarse  gold  has  since  been  found 
in  that  locality  the  bars  of  that  river  have  yielded  much  flour 
gold.  This  lends  some  color  to  Holt's  story  which  may  yet  be 
confirmed.  In  1880  a  prospecting  party  was  organized  at  Sitka 
under  the  leadership  of  Edward  Bean.  They  established  friendly 
relations  with  the  Chilkats  and  Chilkoots  and  were  permitted  to 
cross  the  range  by  way  of  Chilkoot  pass  to  Lake  Lindeman, 
where  they  built  boats  and  descended  the  Lewis  as  far  as  the  Hoot- 
alinqua. The  party  numbered  about  twenty-five,  one  of  whom 
informed  Dawson  that  gold  was  found  in  a  small  stream  fifteen 
miles  above  the  canyon  the  diggings  yielding  $2.50  per  day.  The 
same  year  Slim  Jim,  now  residing  at  Juneau,  and  John  Macken- 
zie crossed  the  Chilkoot  pass  and  probably  other  parties  followed 
within  the  year.     According  to  the  €oast  Pilot  a  party  of  four  min- 


m 


It 

hmall 
the 
falls 
'hite 

Ivhile 
nets 

li  the 

I  sup- 


o 


i 


V-     I 


I 


VrX 


i 


^iUglilSiKiSfiasiaanorc 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


61 


ers  crossed  the  range  in  1 88 1  and  descended  the  Lewis  as  far  as 
Big  Salmon  river,  which  they  ascended  for  some  200  miles,  finding 
gold  on  all  of  its  bars  some  of  which  paid  well.  This  find  may 
be  characterized  as  the  first  gold  discovered  in  paying  quantities 
in  the  Yukon  basin. 

In  1884  and  1885  some  mining  was  done  on  the  Pelly  and 
Hootalinqua  rivers.  Some  miners  reached  the  Stewart  in  the 
spring  of  1886  and  Cassiar  bar  was  also  located  the  same  year  and 
actively  worked  during  the  season.  This  was  the  richest  bar  ever 
located  on  the  Yukon  or  any  of  its  tributaries  yielding  many 
thousands  of  dollars.  Late  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  coarse 
gold  was  discovered  on  Forty  Mile  creek.  The  announcement  of 
this  discovery  drew  off  all  the  miners  from  the  upper  river  country. 
In  1887  a  miner  named  Williams  perished  on  the  summit  of  Chil- 
koot  pass  in  trying  to  bring  out  the  news.  The  bars  of  Forty 
Mile  creek  were  worked  for  a  few  years  at  good  profit,  but  since 
the  discovery  of  coarse  gold  in  the  gulches  they  have  been  aban- 
doned. It  may  be  truly  said  that  mining  in  this  country  is  only 
begun  and  that  only  a  few  of  the  most  accessible  streams  have 
even  been  prospected.  All  the  larger  rivers  of  the  upper  country 
furnish  flour  gold  which  increases  in  coarseness  as  the  rivers  are 
ascended.  Thus  it  is  clear  that  the  surrounding  gulches  in  many 
places  must  furnish  exceedingly  rich  diggings.  The  territory  cut 
by  these  streams  is  almost  unlimited.  One  hundred  thousand 
men  could  prospect  the  Yukon  basin  and  be  lost  to  one  another. 
The  greatest  drawback  is  the  limit  of  supplies.  This  will  be 
overcome  in  the  near  future  as  the  companies  there  at  present  are 
M^ideawake  to  the  needs  and  possibilities  of  the  country.  I  can 
see  only  a  bright  future  for  the  entire  Yukon  basin  as  a  mining 
country,  not  only  in  the  auriferous  deposits  but  in  the  vast  leads 
of  quartz  found  throughout  the  entire  region. 

SOURCE  OF  THE  YUKON. 


Much  controversy  from  time  to  time  has  been  indulged  in  as  to 
the  true  source  of  the  Yukon,  and  as  to  its  name.  The  name 
Pelly  was  given  to  the  whole  river  down  to  the  Porcupine  by  early 
explorers,  while  the  name  Yukon  was  first  applied  in  1846  by  Mr. 
J.   Bell  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.     He  reached  the  main 


Hli 


GUIDK    TO    TIIK    YUKON 


river  by  descending  the  Porcupine  from  the  Mackin/ie,  and  called 
it  by  its  Indian  name.  R.  Campbell,  an  officer  of  the  Hudson 
Hay  Company,  also  descended  the  I'elly  as  far  as  the  Porcupine, 
and  named  the  Lewis,  vStevvart  and  White  rivers.  Hut  not  until 
the  publishinji^  of  the  Coast  survey  map  of  1869  did  the  river  be- 
come jj;enerally  known  as  the  Yukon  as  far  up  as  the  Pelly. 
Schwatka,  who  afterwards  made  an  official,  exploration  of  the 
river,  changed  every  name  never  offering  the  pretext  of  an  excuse. 
Thus  the  nometiclature  of  the  Yukon  and  its  tributaries  became 
further  confused.  Schwatka  applied  the  name  Yukon  to  the 
Lewis,  giving  Lake  Lindeman  as  its  true  source.  There  was 
.some  justification  for  this  inasmuch  as  the  Lewis  carries  the 
greater  volume  of  water.  Lake  Lindeman  and  its  cotniections,  it 
would  seem,  are  mucli  smaller  and  snorter  than  the  Toko  Arm 
and  its  connections.  Thus  while  the  Lewis  carries  the  larger  vol- 
ume of  water,  it  is  far  .shorter  and  drains  a  smaller  country  than 
either  the  Hootalinqua  or  the  Pelly.  The  Lewis,  draining  as  it 
does  the  Coast  range  with  its  perpetual  snow  and  glaciers,  main- 
tains its  volume  of  water  long  after  the  Hootalinqua  and  Pelly 
have  reached  their  lowest  summer  level.  Yet  the  Pelly  is  by  far 
the  longer  river  and  enough  is  known  of  the  Hootalinqua  to  prove 
it  much  longer  than  the  Lewis.  Those  rivers  drain  a  compara- 
tively dry  country,  the  snowfall  being  light  and  the  rainfall  even 
lighter,  therefore  the  true  source  of  the  Yukon  yet  remains  to  be 
definitely  settled. 


CLIMATE. 


The  climate  in  the  lake  region  and  down  to  old  Fort  Yukon  is, 
although  cold  in  winter  and  warm  in  summer,  very  agreeable. 
The  snow  in  the  upper  river  country  never  exceeds  three  or  four 
feet,  often  hardly  two.  In  summer  little  rain  falls  except  during 
an  occasional  thunder  storm.  The  summer  .season  is  truly  one 
long  dream  of  sinishine,  due  to  the  protection  of  the  high  Coast 
range  which  precipitates  the  ever  present  humidity  of  the  coast, 
leaving  the  interior  dry.  The  general  direction  of  the  winds  is 
inland  in  summer  and  directly  oppo.site  iii^  winter.  This  is  caused 
by  the  rising  of  the  hot  air  of  the  interior  in  sunnner  and  in  win- 
ter by  the  existence  of  a  persistent  north  wind  which  easily  forces 


led 


I.SOll 

Intil 
he- 

lUy. 
the 

11  se. 

line 


/as 


It 


lan 

s  it 


en 


c 


^i 


mi 


M 


li 


''! 


..«.,.3fiiaif»aB«ai^-'^^ 


GUIDE   TO    THE    YUKON 


63 


the  coast  breezes  seaward.  The  winters,  while  cold,  are  so  devoid 
of  humidity  that  the  cold  is  easily  endured  and  one  suffers  less 
when  the  thermometer  registers  forty  below  than  on  the  coast  at 
zero. 


WINTER  CLOTHES. 


Most  of  the  miners  adopt  the  native  custom  of  dress  to  a  cer- 
tain extent.  The  boots  are  of  several  varieties,  most  of  which  are 
made  by  the  Coast  Indians.  The  water  boot  is  made  of  seal  and 
walrus  skins,  while  the  dry  weather  or  winter  boot  is  made  in  an 
endless  variety  of  styles,  some  having  fur-trimmed  legs  elaborately 
designed,  giving  them  a  pleasing  appearance.  They  wear  well 
and  range  in  price  from  two  to  five  dollars  per  pair.  Trousers  are 
often  made  of  Siberian  fawn  skin  and  the  skin  of  the  marmot  or 
ground  squirrel.  The  upper  garment,  called  a /ar^a,  is  usually 
made  of  marmot  skins  and  trimmed  with  wolverine  around  the 
hood  and  lower  edge,  the  long  hair  taken  from  the  sides  of  the 
wolverine  being  used  for  the  hood.  This  hair  is  sometimes  five 
or  six  inches  in  length  thereby  protecting  the  face  of  the  person 
wearing  the  hood.  Wolverine  skins  are  prized  very  highly  on  the 
coast  of  Behring  sea,  and  as  that  animal  does  not  inhabit  the 
coast,  the  skins  are  bought  by  the  traders  in  the  lake  country  and 
sold  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast.  In  some  instances  they  are 
bought  in  San  Francisco  and  taken  up  to  this  fur-bearing  country 
for  trade.  The  women's  parka  differs  slightly  from  that  worn  by 
the  men,  being  cut  up  at  the  sides  some  ten  inches  and  rounded 
at  the  bottom  like  a  shirt.  Some  of  these  come  all  the  way  from 
Siberia  and  are  works  of  art.  Some  are  made  of  fawn  skins  and 
trimmed  with  the  fur  of  the  white  wolf.  The  inside  is  beautifully 
embroidered  with  colored  silks  and  ornamented  with  otter's  fur 
and  dyed  feathers.  Some  of  \^\ss,^ parkas  cost  as  high  a  one  hun- 
dred dollars.  Good  warm  flannels  can  be  worn  under  these  and 
the  whole  outfit  wi'l  weigh  less  than  the  ordinary  clothes  worn  in 
a  country  where  the  weather  gets  down  to  zero.  They  have  an 
attractive  anil  unique  appearance  and  are  rather  enjoyed  after  once 
worn.  They  are  almost  cold  proof."  For  bedding  the  best  blank- 
ets to  be  obtained  are  used  ;  also  fur  robes,  those  made  of  lynxs' 
skins  being  about  the  best  considering  price  and  wear.     A  good 


64 


GUIDE    TO    THE    YUKON 


lynx  robe  sells  for  one  hundred  dollars.  Bear,  mink  and  red  fox 
robes  are  also  used.  The  arctic  hare  makes  cheap  and  nice  robes 
as  well  as  socks  to  be  worn  with  the  skin  boots. 


NEW  DISCOVERY  AT  COOK  INI.ET. 


Cook  Inlet  has  been  prospected  for  many  years  but  with  little 
success  although  flour  gold  is  found  all  along  the  coast.  This 
washes  in  with  a  fine  magnetic  sand  and  although  worked  for  some 
time  in  the  short  summer  only  small  wages  have  been  made.  One 
surface  claim,  after  running  a  ditch  some  distance  for  water,  was 
worked  with  some  success.  This  was  on  the  east  coast  of  the  inlet. 
Another  claim  located  on  the  Turnagain  Arm  has  been  worked 
for  some  time  with  better  results,  as  high  as  ten  dollars  per  day 
being  made.  This  attracted  some  attention  and  in  the  spring  of 
1894  twenty  men  went  to  that  locality.  New  diggings  were  lo- 
cated that,  according  to  report,  are  quite  rich,  as  high  as  twenty 
dollars  per  day  being  made.  The  gold  is  of  a  course  character 
ana  is  located  over  the  ridge  from  Turnagain  Arm  on  the  small 
creek  that  enters  near  its  mouth.  Bed-rock  lies  near  the  surface 
and  the  creeks  are  said  to  have  a  good  grade.  Nuggets  weighing 
upwards  of  one  ounce  were  found  and  the  men  from  whom  I 
learned  the  above  seemed  very  sanguine  over  the  prospects  and 
expected  to  return  this  spring  with  provisions  for  a  long  stay. 
To  test  them  I  tried  to  imbue  them  with  the  Yukon  excitement 
by  telling  them  of  the  numerous  new  and  rich  finds  in  that  coun- 
try, but  they  would  not  think  of  leaving  their  prospects. 


THE  YUKON  RIVER. 


What  the  Amazon  is  to  South  America,  the  Mississippi  to  the 
central  portion  of  the  United  States,  the  Yukon  is  to  Alaska.  It 
is  a  great  inland  highway,  which  makes  it  possible  for  the  explorer 
to  penetrate  that  unknown  country  where  heat  and  cold  for  ages 
have  contended  for  the  mastery,  to  reveal  to  the  world  the  treas- 
ures so  long  held  secret  in  that  ice- vaulted  region.  A  wonderful 
story  will  be  unfolded  as  the  mysteries  are  brought  to  light;  but 


fox 
)bes 


)me 
)ne 


II' 


L 


H 

n 
o 

H 
H 

H 

■< 

■< 
n 


O 


I  I'liiillirianiiiniTfirT - 


i 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


65 


the  revelation  of  the  wonders  therein  contained  will  of  necessity- 
be  made  very  slowly  for  the  re -^ son  that  the  only  key  to  this  fro- 
zen, rock-ribbed  region  is  carried  by  the  king  of  day  in  his  trium- 
phant march  through  the  skies  and  he  permits  the  use  of  it  for 
only  a  brief  period  during  the  summer  of  eight  to  ten  weeks. 
But  were  it  not  for  this  great  artery,  the  Yukon  river,  which  goes 
pulsating  for  2,600  miles  through  the  northwest,  bidding  defiance 
to  the  Frost  King  with  his  rivers  of  ice  and  mountains  of  snow, 
the  world  would  remain  in  ignorance  of  the  untold  wealth  of  the 
interior  of  Alaska. 

The  Yukon  has  its  source  in  the  Rocky  mountains  of  British 
Columbia  and  the  Coast  Range  mountains  in  southeastern  Alaska, 
about  125  miles  from  the  city  of  Juneau.  This  branch  of  the  Yu- 
kon, which  is  known  as  the  L,ewis  river  for  357  miles,  the  writer 
has  fully  explored  and  a  description  of  the  same  is  given  in  the 
preceding  pages  of  this  book.  The  branch  that  heads  in  British 
Columbia  is  known  as  the  Pelly  river  and  is  600  miles  in  length. 
These  two  branches  unite  and  are  then  known  as  the  Yickon.  At 
the  confluence  of  the  Lewis  and  Pelly  rivers  is  located  Fort  Sel- 
kirk. The  Yukon  proper  is  2044  miles  in  length  and  is  navigable 
the  entire  distance  for  flat  bottom  boats  with  a  carrying  capacity 
of  from  four  to  five  hundred  tons.  From  Fort  Selkirk  the  Yukon 
flows  northwest  400  miles  touching  the  Arctic  circle;  thence  south- 
west for  a  distance  of  1,600  miles  where  it  empties  into  Behring 
Sea.  It  drains  more  than  600,000  square  miles  of  territory  and 
discharges  one-third  more  water  into  Behring  Sea  than  does  the 
Mississippi  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  is  sixty  miles  wide  at 
its  mouth  and  very  shallow  which  prevents  its  navigation  by  sea- 
going vessels.  1,500  miles  inland  the  river  widens  out  from  one 
to  ten  miles  and  a  thousand  islands  send  the  channel  in  as  many 
•different  directions  and  only  natives  who  are  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  river  are  entrusted  to  pilot  boats  up  the  stream  during 
the  season  of  low  water. 

Unlike  tiie  Amazon  or  Mississippi,  with  their  borders  of  low- 
lands, receding  hills  and  flat  swampy  districts,  the  Yukon  has 
sawed  mountain  chains  vertically  in  twain  and  forced  its  way 
through  granite  walls  which  have  been  chiseled  into  all  sorts  of 
fantastic  forms  by  the  glaciers  of  long  ago.  An  unending  pano- 
rama of  grandeur  greets  the  eye  of  the  traveler  in  the  months  of 
June,  July  and  August,  as  he  is  borne  along  on  the  current  of  this 


li! 


•J 

In 

I; 'I  I' 


66 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


mighty  stream  which  is  only  second  in  size  to  the  largest  river  of 
the  world.  Its  banks  are  fringed  with  flowers,  carpeted  with  the 
all-prevailing  moss  or  tundra;  birds  innumerable  sing  out  a  wel- 
come from  every  tree  top,  and  pitch  your  tent  where  you  will  in 
midsummer  a  bed  of  roses,  a  clump  of  poppies  and  a  bunch 
of  bluebells  will  adorn  your  camping  place.  One  realizes  that  he 
is  in  a  land  of  paradoxes.  He  will  see  a  giant  glacier  sleeping  on 
top  the  mountain  wall  along  beside  which,  he  will  see  in  bloom 
flowers  of  almost  endless  variety.  About  September  25th  the 
scene  of  beauty  is  suddenly  changed,  when  the  Winter  King  ad- 
vances, sending  the  alcoholic  column  eighty  degrees  below  zero, 
the  birds  to  the  souUi-land,  the  white  man  to  his  cabin,  the  Indian 
to  his  hut  and  the  bear  to  his  sleeping-chamber  in  the  mountains. 
Every  stream  becomes  a  river  of  ice,  every  hill  a  mountain  of 
snow  and  the  valleys  of  beautiful  flowers  are  changed  into  a  scene 
of  eternal  whiteness. 


INDIANS  AlvONG  THE  YUKON. 


In  making  a  journey  into  the  interior  of  Alaska  and  down  the 
Yukon  river,  one  comes  in  contact  with  ten  different  tribes,  or 
remanents  of  tribes,  of  Indians.  The  Chilkats  who  live  in  the 
country  immediately  surrounding  L,ynn  Canal  are  the  largest  and 
most  powerful  tribe  of  all.  They  number  only  1000  and  are  di- 
minishing rapidly  every  year  because  of  the  civilizing  (?)  influ- 
ence of  strong  drink  and  its  attendant  vices  which  the  whites  have 
introduced  among  them.  They  are  avaricious,  shrewd  and  tricky, 
always  a  match  for  the  white  trader  in  driving  a  bargain.  They 
will  subject  themselves  to  the  most  excruciating  labor  and  hard- 
ships for  days  and  weeks  for  a  few  dollars  in  silver.  They  will 
make  long  journeys  across  the  mountains  into  the  interior,  with 
heavy  loads  upon  their  backs,  climb  the  mountain  steeps,  strug- 
gle across  great  glaciers,  wade  icy  streams,  and,  in  a  thinly  clad, 
half-starved  condition,  endure  privations  from  which,  to  the  tour- 
ist it  would  seem  death  would  be  a  welcome  relief. 

All  the  tribes  of  the  upper  Yukon  bear  a  close  resemblance  to 
each  other  in  form  and  features,  which  are  not  unlike  the  Siwask 
Indian  of  Puget  Sound.  The  "Sticks"  are  probably  the  most 
stalwart  of  any.     They  lay  claim  to  the  distinction  of  being  '*  all 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


67 


same  as  Boston  man."  I  thought  however  that  I  could  see  some 
slight  chance  for  improvement,  but  not  being  a  resident  of  the  Hub 
I  had  no  quarrel  with  them  on  that  score. 

Until  recent  years  the  natives  of  the  Yukon  have  had  to  depend 
entirely  upon  game  and  fish  for  fond  and  for  this  reason  many  of 
the  tribes  have  no  permanent  abiding  place  but  follow  the  game 
from  one  .section  of  the  country  to  another.  They  are  good  hunt- 
ers and  show  great  skill  in  the  management  of  their  birch  bark 
canoes  in  the  swift  waters  and  rapids  of  the  mountain  streams. 
All  the  Indians  of  the  upper  river  dress  in  the  garb  of  civilization. 
Traders  bring  large  quantities  of  food  and  clothing  up  the  river, 
thus  affording  an  opportunity  for  the  natives  to  exchange  their 
furs  and  dried  fish  for  the  necessaries  of  life,  which,  to  and  aver- 
age Indian,  mean  plenty  of  tobacco,  a  little  fire-water,  a  gun  and 
ammunition.  There  are  three  or  four  missions  along  the  river  and 
as  a  rule  the  missionaries  are  well  received.  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bumpus  have  had  charge  of  the  mission  at  Forty  Mile  Post  for 
the  past  three  years.  There  are  200  communicants  at  this  place 
who  attend  all  the  services  of  the  sanctuary  as  religiously  and  reg- 
alarly  as  they  light  their  pipes  after  a  hearty  repast  on  moose 
meat  and  dried  fish. 

The  Indians  make  themselves  useful  in  many  ways  about  the 
trading  posts, — sawing  lumber,  building  log  cabins,  unloading 
steamers,  acting  as  guides  to  miners  while  crossing  the  country, 
packing  provisions  into  the  miners  during  the  summer  and  haul- 
ing supplies  on  dog  sledges  during  the  winter. 

Further  down  the  river  the  Indians  are  not  so  thrifty.  Their 
principal  diet  is  fish,  seal  oil  and  berries.  Their  hovels  are  about 
ten  feet  square  on  the  ground  and  have  a  slanting  roof.  About 
four  feet  above  the  ground  poles  are  placed  across  serving  as  joists. 
The  space  above  the  poles  is  utilized  for  storing  away  dried  fish, 
game,  seal  skins  filled  with  berries  preserved  in  oil,  which  are  a 
great  luxury  among  the  natives.  The  space  below  the  poles, 
which  is  only  high  enough  for  the  inmates  to  sit  tailor-like  fash- 
ion with  head  and  shoulders  bent  forward,  is  used  for  cooking, 
eating,  sleeping,  cleaning  fish  and  game  of  all  sorts.  They  are 
devoid  of  all  sense  of  cleanliness  and  take  no  sanitary  percaution 
whatever  to  ward  off  disease.  In  one  village  where  we  stopped  to 
take  on  wood  we  found  the  dead  bodies  of  three  men  almost  en- 
tirely exposed  with  scarcely  any  dirt  upon  them  excepting  that 


Ml 


68 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


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which  thej'  had  accumulated  during  their  natural  lifetime  in  the 
absence  of  applied  soap  and  water.  A  more  filthy,  degraded, 
loathsome  set  of  cieatures  it  would  be  hard  to  find. 

The  mortality  of  these  tribes  is  very  great  and  within  a  few 
short  years  the\  will  be  creatures  of  the  past  and  their  graveyards 
will  furnish  an  interesting  field  for  relic  hunters,  and  their  bones 
along  with  those  of  the  mammoth,  giant  buffalo,  and  ichthyosau- 
rus, will  adorn  tht  museums  of  the  world  while  their  spirits  con- 
tinue the  chase  in  the  "  happy  hunting  ground  "  beyond. 


PURCHASE  OF  ALASKA. 


This  little  volume  upon  Alaska  would  be  incomplete  without  a 
summary  of  the  history  of  its  purchase  and  a  statement  of  its  area 
and  extent. 

Czar  Nicholas  offered  to  give  Russian  America  to  the  United 
States  in  1S44  and  45,  during  Polk's  administration,  provided  our 
government  would  pay  the  cost  of  transfer  and  maintain  the  boun- 
dary line  at  45°  4o\  In  1854  ^^  was  offered  to  the  United  States 
and  again  in  1859,  wh  m  $5,000,000  were  refused.  It  seemed  to 
be  the  desire  of  the  Czar  to  place  it  beyond  the  power  of  England's 
acquiring  it  in  case  of  war  with  that  country.  During  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion,  our  government  greatly  appreciated  the  moral 
support  given  us  by  the  Czar  of  Russia  in  sending  fleets  to  the 
harbors  of  San  Francisco  and  New  York  at  a  time  when  France 
and  England  were  on  the  point  of  recognizing  the  government  of 
the  Confederate  States.  Hearing  of  the  desire  of  the  Czar  to  sell 
his  possessions  in  America,  and  appreciating  their  great  value. 
Secretary  of  State  Wm.  H.  Seward  felt  that  its  purchase  would 
serve  a  double  purpose:  it  would  please  the  Czar  and  secure  to  the 
United  States  a  valuable  territory.  Accordingly  negotiations  were 
opened  in  February,  1867.  A  treaty  of  purchase  was  sent  to  the 
senate  March  30,  1867,  reported  April  9,  ratified  May  28,  and  pro- 
claimed by  the  president  June  20  of  the  same  year.  Charles  Sum- 
ner suggested  Alaska,  the  name  given  to  Captain  Cook  by  the 
natives.  The  price  paid  was  $7,200,000,  less  thafi  half  a  cent  an 
acre.  It  has  proved  a  profitable  investment  from  the  date  of  pur- 
chase, yielding  a  net  profit  of  8  per  cent,  for  the  first  five  years 
upon  the  price  paid.     The  Salmon  industry  yielded  $7,500,000  in 


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GUIDE    TO  THE   YUKON 


69 


the  six  years  from  1884  to  1890.     The  Treadwell  mine  alone  has 
added  more  than  the  purchase  price  to  the  wealth  of  the  world. 


AREA  AND  EXTENT. 


Alaska  proper  contains  an  area  of  580,107  square  miles;  the 
islands  of  Alexander  Archipelago,  31,205  square  miles,  and  the 
Aleutian  Islands,  6,391  square  miles.  It  has  an  extent  of  over 
1,000  miles  from  north  to  south,  and  the  island  of  Attn  of  the 
Aleutian  group  is  2,000  miles  west  of  Sitka.  The  longitude  of 
Attn  is  as  many  degrees  west  of  San  Francisco  as  Eastport,  Maine, 
is  degrees  east.  The  sun  never  goes  down  upon  *^he  domain  of 
the  United  States. 


JUNEAU. 


Juneau,  the  metropolis  of  Alaska,  is  the  outfitting  point,  not 
only  for  the  great  mining  district  of  south-eastern  Alaska,  but  for 
miners  on  their  way  to  the  Yukon  gold-fields.  The  past  year  has 
witnessed  a  great  improvement  in  the  town  and  Juneau  to-day  has 
the  appearance  of  a  progressive  city  with  fine  buildings,  substan- 
tial whan'es,  electric  lights,  water  works,  hotels,  numerous  retail 
and  wholesale  outfitting  establishments.  It  is  the  headquarters 
of  several  steamboat  lines.  The  city  hall  and  courthouse  stand 
guard  over  all  on  the  crest  of  a  high  mound  seemingly  formed  for 
the  purpose.  From  the  deck  of  incoming  steamers  up  Gastineau 
Channel  the  view  is  a  pleasing  one,  the  townsite  alone  being  open 
to  criticism,  it  having  undoubtedly  been  formed  by  slides  from  the 
high  mountains  which  surround  it.  It  has  a  decided  Alpine  ap- 
pearance. The  adjacent  mountains  retain  some  snow  nearly  or 
quite  the  whole  year  and  the  avalanches  that  tear  dow-n  their  rug- 
ged sides  in  spring  form  a  spectacle  that  well  repays  a  visit  to  this 
enterprising  town.  I  spent  some  time  trying  to  photograph  one 
of  those  slides  but  was  unsuccessful,  They  occur  daily,  and  at 
night  their  rumblings  will  often  awaken  one  from  a  sound  sleep 
with  the  impression  that  an  earthquake  is  shaking  the  foundation 
of  the  city.     Cold  but  not  slumbering  glaciers  occupy  parts  of  this 


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GUIDK   TO  TIIIC   YUKON 


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ran^e,  one  running  almost  parallel  with  it,  meeting  the  ocean  at 
Taku  Inlet.  So  lixelj'  does  it  move  oceatuvard  that  at  times  the 
waters  adjacent  to  Juneau  are  fdled  with  floating  bergs  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  cause  the  greatest  watchfulness  on  the  part  of  nav- 
igators. Although  the  pass  through  which  the  Taku  glacier 
emerges  is  some  twenty  miles  from  Juneau,  I  have  seen  bergs  as 
large  as  a  business  block  floating  near  the  wharves.  The  lover  of 
the  alpenstock  can  here  find  real  glaciers  and  mountains  which  he 
could  ascend  unaided  to  heights  sufficient  to  break  his  neck  with- 
out the  assistance  of  accomplished  and  expensive  guides. 

Juneau  is  the  immediate  center  of  an  extensive  and  active  min- 
ing district.  It  was  founded  in  the  winter  of  1880-S1,  gold  hav- 
ing been  discovered  August  15,  x88o,  by  Joseph  Juneau  and  Rich- 
ard Harris.  The  town  was  first  known  as  Harrisburg;  later,  as 
Rockwell;  but  at  a  miners'  meeting  in  November,  1881,  it  was 
wisely  and  justly  re-christened  Juneau  in  honor  of  Joseph  Juneau. 
The  hills  and  streams  proved  so  rich  in  gold  that  miners  from 
manj'  parts  of  Alaska  and  British  Columbia  hastened  to  this  re- 
gion", and  within  the  year  Juneau  became  a  flourishing  and  typ- 
ical mining  town  with  that  unea.sy,  ventursome  spirit  of  gambling 
prevalent  that  would  have  excited  the  admiration  of  a  forty-niner. 
Since  then  it  has  become  the  commercial  center  of  Alaska  Cap- 
ital has  developed  many  mines  in  its  vicinity  and  the  past  year 
has  brought  more  money  there  than  ever  before.  The  coming  year 
will  undoubtedly  mark  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  mining  in  south- 
ern Alaska.  The  business  men  are  shrewd  and  active  and  keep 
abreast  of  the  times.  Juneau  supports  three  weekly  papers,  all 
bright,  newsy  .sheets  that  would  be  a  credit  to  any  city  having 
the  advantages  of  wire  and  train  connections  with  the  rest  of  the 
world.  They  are  always  well  filled  with  mining  and  general  news 
concerning  Alaska.  A  business  directory  of  Juneau  can  be  found 
in  another  part  of  this  guide. 


m 


DOUGLASS  ISLAND. 


Upon  Douglass  Island,  two  miles  from  Juneau  and  connected 
with  it  b}^  ferry,  the  famous  Treadwell  gold  mine  is  located.  It 
has  the  largest  quartz-mill  in  the  world.  The  ore  of  this  mine  is 
of  a  low  grade  but  free-milling,  the  average  yield  per  ton  being 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


71 


$3.40;    yet   the  net  profits  for  the  year  ending  May    15,    1894 
amounted  to  f 420,948.86. 

The  Mexican  mine,  some  half  mile  below  the  Treadwell,  bids 
fair  to  become  quite  as  famous.  The  new  mill  just  completed  on 
this  property  is  of  latest  design  and  reflects  great  credit  upon  the 
superintendent,  Mr.  Robert  J.  Duncan,  Jr.  Mr.  Duncan  is  also 
superintendent  of  the  Treadwell.  The  ore  of  the  Mexican  is  of 
a  higher  grade  than  that  of  the  Treadwell. 


GOLD-DUST. 


Gold-dust  and  nuggets  are  the  principal  medium  of  exchange 
throughout  the  Yukon  basin,  but  little  money  being  in  circulation. 
Everybody  carries  gold-scales  and  so  adept  does  one  become  in  a 
short  time  that  it  takes  but  little  longer  to  make  change  than 
with  coin.  If  a  hair-cut  is  needed  the  gold-dust  is  weighed  out 
— seventy-five  cents  ;  if  a  glass  of  whisky,  fifty  cents,  and  so  on. 
Everybody  carries  a  buckskin  sack.  The  established  value  of 
gold-dust  is  seventeen  dollars  per  ounce. 

Nuggets  of  one  and  two  ounces  are  not  uncommon.  One  was 
found  in  Franklin  gulch  weighing  thirty  ounces.  The  gold  of  the 
different  gulches  is  readily  distinguishable,  some  being  of  a  light 
color,  worn  smooth  by  the  elements,  while  from  others  it  is  rough 
and  of  a  darker  hue. 

SALE  ON  BED-ROCK. 


This  is  a  method  whereby  mining  claims  are  transferred  from 
one  to  another  with  the  agieenient  to  pay  a  certain  consideration 
in  gold-dii^t,  the  gold-dust  to  be  taken  from  the  claim  thus  trans- 
ferred. This  is  known  as  sale  on  bed-rock  and  is  common  through- 
out the  Yukon  basin. 


MINERS'  LAWS. 


At  present  miners'  law  prevails  and  it  is  probably  much  better 
adapted  to  the  country  in  its  present  condition  than  a  regularly 
constituted  judicial  system.     There  are  no  long  terms  of  unnec- 


m: 


72 


GUIDE  TO  THE  YUKON 


essarj'  imprisonment,  no  corrupt  courts,  no  costly  prolonged  legal 
wrangles  to  be  decided,  perhaps,  in  favor  of  the  wrong.  Speedy 
and  impartial  justice  is  dealt  out  to  all  free  of  cost  and  so  effect- 
ually that  no  cases  of  robbery  or  murder  are  on  record  and  the 
utmost  good  will  and  faith  are  preserved  toward  all.  This  state 
of  affairs,  however,  will  not  last  long.  With  the  influx  to  be  ex- 
pected in  the  next  few  years  things  must  necessarily  change.  A 
special  judicial  district  court  with  unlimited  powers  should  be 
created,  thus  avoiding  the  expense  and  time  of  appeals  which 
would  necessarily  follow  a  court  of  limited  powers  and  jurisdic- 
tion. 


A   MODEL  FIRM. 

The  map  and  half-tones  used  in  this  book  were  made  by  the 
engravers,  Curtis  and  Guptill,  614  Second  Street,  Seattle,  Wash., 
and  demonstrate  anew  the  fact  that  Seattle  is  up  to  the  times  in 
all  branches. 

Messrs.  Curtis  and  Guptill  have  the  most  complete  engraving 
plant  in  the  Northwest  and  make  a  specialty  of  fine  half-tones. 

We  consider  their  work  equal  to  any  turned  out  by  Chicago  or 
New  York  firms,  and  we  wish  them  all  the  success  that  their 
prompt  businer>s  methods  and  splendid  \.  ork  desires. 


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A  NEW  STEAMBOAT  LINE 

After  March  3rd,  1895,  the  Steamer  Willapa  will  make  regular 
trips  between  Tacoma,  Seattle,  Port  Townsend  and  Alaska. 

This  boat  has  been  entirelj'  refitted  with  electee  lights  and 
steam  heat  throughout.  Capt.  Geo.  Roberts,  formerly  captain  of 
the  City  of  Kingston,  well  and  favorably  known  throughout  the 
Northwest,  will  be  in  command.  Mr.  Geo.  H.  Lent,  superin- 
tendent of  Cornell  Steamboat  Co.,  New  York  City,  will  be  chief 
engineer.  With  such  competent  men  at  wheel  and  throttle,  a  safe 
and  speedy  passage  is  insured.  The  Willapa  will  make  two  trips 
a  month,  connecting  with  the  Farallon  at  Port  Townsend  for  San 
Francisco.  This  will  doubtless  prove  the  favonie  merchants  and 
miners  line. 


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